PHOTO
~Buoyed by its profitable divisions, especially Danube Properties, which has become the undisputable leader in sustainable affordable housing segment~
Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of the "Danube Group": Dubai has the best investment environment in the world.
Rizwan Sajan: I do not build properties worth billions; I only build low-cost properties which do not exceed AED 500 million in value.
- AED 1.8 billion "Danube Properties" portfolio in Dubai
- Our past 5 projects are 100% sold out
- Investment of AED 300 million in the Saudi market through 5 building materials stores and 1 retail store.
- We are launching "Danube Properties" sales office in Saudi Arabia this month to meet the increasing demand
- "Danube" will have a total of 5 retail outlets in Oman by 2017, planning to invest AED 120 million
- "Danube" will add a retail outlet worth AED 50 million to its existing B2B stores in Qatar in 2017
- AED50 million earmarked for 2 more retail stores in the UAE
- Mr. Sajan's achievements during the past year paved way for him being on the cover of the Forbes Middle East magazine's May issue
Dubai - United Arab Emirates - Rizwan Sajan, the Founder and Chairman of "Danube Group", said that Dubai is the best investment destination in the world, thanks to Dubai government's vision to create attractive environment for investors. The political stability and security in Dubai and United Arab Emirates in general, has stimulated investments by providing investors with global infrastructure and the fact that Dubai has become the commercial; logistical; financial and service hub in the region, Dubai also provide a unique opportunity for companies to expand their businesses in the MENA region and worldwide, such vision made Dubai the headquarter of the major international and multinational companies.
Mr Sajan spoke about the great importance of GCC Markets for "Danube" operations and expansion plans and pointed out that "Danube" has been operating in the Saudi market for 5 years now. Over the years Danube has invested AED 300 million in the market by establishing 5 building materials stores and 1 retail store. The month of May will see the establishment of Danube Properties' sales office in Saudi Arabia, to meet the huge demand from Saudi investors to buy properties in Dubai. According to Mr Sajan, this is their second sales office after establishing their first sales office abroad in India last month.
The past few years we have seen a large influx by Saudi tourists to Dubai. According to the Department of Tourism in Dubai- 295,000 Saudi tourists visited Dubai during January and February month of this year while 223,000 tourists flew in from Oman to Dubai with 35% growth.
According to Mr. Sajan, buyers of all "Danube" projects in Al Furjan and Discovery Gardens, can make 10% return on their investment once they decide to rent out their property thanks to the payment of 1% without any interest plan, Mr Sajan also said, "If the buyer has purchased the unit (studio), for example, in one of our projects, where the cost of the studio range between AED 450,000 and AED 500,000 in Al Furjan area which is an important strategic area as it is located in Jebel Ali, which serves as the headquarter of major international companies, near the metro line and very close to Dubai Expo location which Dubai will host in 2020. That is why Al Furjan has become a preferred destination for real estate investors. The buyer will achieve an ROI of AED 50,000 yearly which is about 10% of the total value of the property and when one has already AED 250,000 by the time we handover the apartment, it becomes easier from there on."
Mr Sajan added: "All our projects- Dreamz, Glitz Residence 1, Glitz Residence 2, Glitz Residence 3, Starz Tower By Danube and the latest offering Glamz come with very unique and innovative concepts. And a stand out payment plan for long- term investors and end- users, wherein the buyer just pays 10% down payment followed by 15% in 60 days, the balance amount is to be paid in 75 equal monthly installments of only 1% each without interest. The most attractive part of the payment plan is that it requires the buyers to pay only 52% until handover and balance in 4 years after handover, is best suited for investors from far and wide, including investors in the region.
Asking Mr Sajan about their expansion plans in GCC region Mr Sajan confirmed that the next 2 years will witness a significant expansion of "Danube group" in the GCC markets.
Mr Sajan said, "Beside our presence in UAE market, we have a strong presence in Oman through our retail stores and we intend to launch 2 new retail stores this year, and 2 more retail stores early next year, taking the total number of stores in Oman to 5 retail stores with investments worth AED120 million in the cities of Mabela, Nizwa, Sohar and Salalah."
Mr Sajan spoke about their presence in Qatari market which started years ago with 2 building materials stores. Now, Danube will invest AED 50 million to open their first retail store in Qatar early next year.
In Bahrain, Mr Sajan said that they have established a building materials store as well as a retail store with a total investment of about AED 200 million.
Mr. Sajan considers UAE as "Danube Group" headquarters and considered and the heart of their worldwide operations. To strengthen their business here, Danube will be opening 2 new retail stores this year, with an estimated investment of AED50 million.
With regards to the real estate sector in Dubai Mr Sajan revealed that their "Danube Properties" portfolio has reached an impressive AED 1.8 billion, Mr Sajan said that "Danube Properties" recently launched its 6th real estate project while confirming that all other 5 are 100% sold out.
Mr Sajan spoke about their projects in Dubai, "Dreamz by Danube- The AED 500 million development in Al Furjan houses 171 contemporary styled townhouses. Glitz 1 & 2 by Danube- Offering 302 luxury apartment units ranging from studios to three bedrooms, the USD 81.6m (AED 300 million) project is being developed at Dubai Studio City. Glitz Residence 3 by Danube - The AED350 million ($95.3m) Glitz Residence 3 development will consist of 352 apartments, offering studios, one-, two-, and three-bedroom units. The project is slated for completion by the end of 2017. Starz Tower by Danube- Danube Properties recently renamed the Dh300 million Ritz Tower, a residential project in Al Furjan, to Starz Tower after the name clashed with another registered trademark. However within weeks of the sales launch, all 454 units of the project were sold out.
According to Mr Sajan " Danube Properties " has been able to negate any chances of delay in projects because of the one important factor; their core business division of building materials, which allows the selected contractor to source building material on time and more importantly, it comes at the lowest available price, such arrangement makes sure that the project cost comes down considerably, which allows Danube to pass on the benefit to customers by delivering property at the most affordable price.
The unwavering customer trust in the brand for over two decades has established Danube's projects as the preferred choice across geographies MrSajan added, saying thatDanube's first project Dreamz is well on schedule for delivery later this year whereas other projects- Glitz 1, Glitz 2, Glitz 3 and Starz are all 4-5 months ahead of schedule.
Mr Sajan said that the majority of developers in Dubai for years have concentrated on luxury properties with high prices, and have targeted buyers with financial capabilities, this why they decided to build low-cost real estate projects.
Rizwan Sajan featured on the cover of May edition of Forbes - Middle East Magazine
Rizwan Sajan featured on the cover of the Forbes- Middle East magazine's may edition. This is a great honour for any businessman to be featured on the cover a prestigious magazine. The special edition enlisted the top Indian business leaders in the Arab world and Mr. Sajan's achievements during the past year came to the fore while deciding the cover story for the magazine's May issue. The cover story reads- "From Mumbai to Dubai - luxury real estate may be taking a hit in Dubai to achieve great success, however, but his lower priced apartments are selling out and more projects underway.
Driven by Mr. Sajan's vision Danube Building Materials has evolved into "Danube Group", an empire of successful companies including Danube Building Materials, Danube Properties, Danube Home, Milano, DanubeDirect.com, Cha Cha Chai, Danube Systems, Xti, Tudors and Alucopanel Middle East LLC
-Ends-
For more information, please contact:
Fekra Communications
Mohammed El Batta
T: +971 4 8879593 | M: +971 55 5542678
E: mohammed.elbatta@fekracomms.com | www.fekracomms.com
© Press Release 2016
