Sunday, Apr 22, 2012
DUBAI (Zawya Dow Jones)--National Bank of Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates' second-biggest bank by assets, said it has launched an investment management arm in the Dubai International Financial Centre and is planning a real estate fund focusing on the U.A.E.
NBAD and its partner in the fund venture, Gulf Investment Corporation, are each contributing 50 million U.A.E. dirhams ($13.6 million) in seed money, executives said at a press event Sunday, with a total fund-raising target of around AED1 billion.
Mahmood Al Aradi, the senior general manager of NBAD's financial markets division and a director of the DIFC subsidiary, said the fund would target seven to 12 properties. It will focus on commercial offices, warehousing and industrial properties in the UAE, initially in free zones. The fund hopes to deliver double-digit annual returns.
"We believe the U.A.E. has turned a corner and the market right now is offering a great opportunity," Al Aradi said.
The fund, which will be regulated in the DIFC, is expected to launch in the coming few weeks. It will target institutional investors, with an aim of bringing it to an initial public offering within the next two years and creating a real estate investment trust.
Consultancy Knight Frank and NBAD-owned property manager Abu Dhabi National Properties are to work with the fund and provide advisory and management services.
-By Asa Fitch, Dow Jones Newswires, +971 4 446-1685, asa.fitch@dowjones.com
Copyright (c) 2012 Dow Jones & Co.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
22-04-12 1314GMT
