Abu Dhabi-Richest City In The World

[Stratosphere6000]

http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2007/03/19/8402357/index.htm?cnn=yes

Lots of potential in AUH and EY it can be concluded...

[fractional]

Reading it...
"We move fast," Khaldoon says, his crisp, white headscarf whipping in the wind. "Think about it: How many places in the world can you say, 'I'm going to establish an airline,' and boom, two years later you have 21 planes and 37 destinations? How many places in the world can you say, 'I need 15,000 hotel rooms,' and boom, you have 100 new hotels in the works? How many places can you say, 'I want world-class hospitals, universities, and museums,' and boom, the Sorbonne, Cleveland Clinic, Guggenheim, and Louvre are on the way?"
... how many more airlines for this region? Food for thought...

[Stratosphere6000]

Abu Dhabi's Mubadala lays out aerospace ambitions
By Murdo Morrison

The emirate of Abu Dhabi is stepping up plans to become a major force in global aerospace, emulating the ambitions of its United Arab Emirates neighbour Dubai. It comes as Boeing and Lockheed Martin become the latest Western manufacturers aiming to establish an industrial presence in the oil-rich Gulf region.

At the show, Boeing signed memoranda of understanding with both Abu Dhabi development agency Mubadala and Dubai Aerospace Enterprise to explore possible joint ventures. Lockheed also announced an MoU with Mubadala to collaborate on maintenance, repair and overhaul and other projects in the Middle East and North Africa.

Abu Dhabi has earmarked aerospace and aviation as the "second plank" of a strategy to diversify the economy from its reliance on oil exports - hydrocarbons being the first. Mubadala has been investing heavily in the sector - it has a 35% stake in Italian business aircraft maker Piaggio, owns Horizon Flight Academy, and together with DAE and another Dubai investor last year bought European MRO provider SR Technics.

However, chief operating officer Waleed Al Mokarrab al Muhairi says its ambitions go beyond simply taking equity in foreign businesses. "The single most important aspect of our mandate is diversifying the Abu Dhabi economy, so everything we do is with that in mind," he says.

One area being looked at is the manufacture of advanced aircraft structures, building on the experience of nationally-owned MRO company Gamco in composite repair work, says al Muhairi. He believes Abu Dhabi can create a "tier one supplier in the next five to 10 years" and "within my lifetime there is no reason we cannot replicate the Embraer story in Brazil".

Central to the deal with Lockheed is likely to be the setting up of a capability within Gamco to service and eventually upgrade the UAE air force's 82 F-16 Block 60s. Boeing - whose Apache helicopters the UAE also flies - will help Abu Dhabi establish a research and development centre, and provide "strategic guidance" on the implementation of its aerospace strategy.

Meanwhile, DAE chief executive Bob Johnson says the group has in place all six "vertical" business units it promised to set up when it launched around 18 months ago. Its latest - a leasing operation - will begin trading "in a couple of months", using a fleet of up to 100 "principally, but not exclusively" narrowbodies acquired new or secondhand.

He says of the MoU with Boeing that all six of its businesses - aircraft leasing, airport management, engineering, information services, manufacturing and training - "have a relationship" with the airframer.

Speaking at the show, Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Emirates and president of Dubai Civil Aviation, said the emirate was spending $82 billion on the aviation sector between now and 2015, including expanding the Emirates fleet and building the world's largest airport and free trade zone. "We are witnessing the birth of the world's new aviation hub," he said.

Just another interesting article I thought might interest some....

[fractional]

By Parag Deulgaonkar © Emirates Today

29 June 2007
Despite gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in Abu Dhabi being 53 per cent higher than in Dubai, average residential property prices are almost 10 per cent cheaper in the capital, says new research.

"If we take Dubai as a proxy and follow the regression trend, at the current GDP per capita level, housing prices in Abu Dhabi should stand at $4,035 (Dh14,808) per square metre instead of $3,060 (Dh11,230)," said HSBC Global Research in a new report.


Currently, residential prices in Abu Dhabi and Dubai stand at Dh11,230 and Dh12,371 per square metre, respectively.


Residential property prices are likely to increase if Abu Dhabi opens up the real estate sector to the same level as Dubai has, the report said.


Foreigners are only allowed to buy 99-year leases, and are limited to a few investment areas in the capital.


HSBC believes that regula tion and market rigidities are holding back potential demand, and thus prices.


Although the population is highly skewed towards expatriates (80 per cent against 20 per cent native population), foreign property ownership is relatively restricted.


"Additionally, property laws and rights are somewhat ambiguous. There is less incentive for expatriates to own property, as residency status is uncertain and settlement is impractical.


Unlike other cities with similar wealth, such as New York and London, foreign workers in Abu Dhabi are not eligible for either citizenship or permanent residency.


"Limited accessibility to mortgage lending, with high mortgage rates (seven to eight per cent), are restricting price appreciation." Moreover, the UAE has one of the lowest mortgage penetration rates. Penetration in Abu Dhabi is even lower, as 97 per cent of home financing is taking place in Dubai, according to HSBC's mortgage department.


While penetration rates are low, growth rates are high, with mortgage lending in the UAE growing by roughly 80 per cent in 2006.


Foreigners, individuals who do not hold a UAE residency visa file 10 per cent of home loan applications, said HSBC.

[boeingdriverx]

And you think you poor expats that they will share with you ! ?

[FlyingCroc]

Third World make over.

[Marooned]

They can build anything they like... but just like Dubai they can't run anything they build.

[Stratosphere6000]

Abu Dhabi is being tipped for the top.

By Jane Woods, Director of Business Development, LLJ Property

It's taken some time but Abu Dhabi is finally emerging from the shadows cast by its glitzy, glamorous neighbour Dubai and attracting significant media attention of its own.

The United Kingdom's Daily Telegraph stated on 9th June 'Abu Dhabi: rich, hot, lots of sand, lots of cranes. Just like Dubai, right? Wrong. In fact, the differences are profound. Abu Dhabi is less frenetic, more cultured, better planned - and, arguably, is now the better bet for today's canny property investor. It is the richest country in the world, the federal capital of the United Arab Emirates and, if its £100 billion, 10-year vision succeeds, it will become the region's hottest spot for real estate and cultural tourism.'

Fine praise indeed and it can be backed up with facts. Abu Dhabi generates 60% of the United Arab Emirate's GDP and has seen a 75% increase in its population in the last decade. Its assets are estimated at US$17million per capita and it has attracted more than US$4billion in inward investment in the last year.

As well as being the political and economic seat of power, Abu Dhabi also benefits from an abundance of energy, owning vast hydrocarbon wealth accounting for 95% of the country's oil reserves and 92% of its gas. The government has pledged to spend more than Dhs1 trillion or US$272 billion on construction, power and tourism and has committed to developing specialized economic zones through its formation of Zonescorp. Five industrial cities are being created across 74sqkm of land to attract new industries and manufacturing to the emirate. To date there is an anticipated inward investment of more than US$2.7 billion to establish the first three cities.

Abu Dhabi is not just focusing on industry; it also has big plans for tourism with this sector growing 17% annually. The national airline Etihad Airways is opening more direct global routes helping the city to attract the attention of businesses and residents in these destinations. By 2010, following a $US2.1billion airport expansion increasing capacity to 40 million passengers annually, the airline aims to fly in visitors from over 70 destinations.

July saw the start of direct flights to Dublin and from September you can fly three times a week non stop to Singapore – a city with whom Abu Dhabi is establishing some significant connections. Two recent announcements are a joint venture between Singapore Property developer CapitaLand and Mubadala Development, to develop real estate in Abu Dhabi. The two partners have committed to investing a combined US$300 million into the joint venture to develop residential, retail and leisure elements, built around existing sports facilities. The project spans a 1.4 million sqm site and includes a 2-kilometre waterfront area and will be developed over the next four to five years.

In the same week ALDAR Properties, one of Abu Dhabi’s leading property developers has also signed a heads of agreement with Keppel Land Limited, one of Asia’s premier property developers, to develop two prime waterfront developments in Abu Dhabi. The two developments will provide over 4,000 residential units.
The real estate sector is still relatively young but has already announced an estimated US$270 billion in development projects to create much needed additional residential and commercial space for the rapidly growing city. Analysts have predicted that this market will overtake others in the region and that demand for residential property will continue to rise.

In January, Business News stated: 'By the end of the decade Abu Dhabi is likely to overtake its neighbours Dubai and Doha as the biggest construction market in the Gulf…… for real estate investors it is arguable that Abu Dhabi offers the most favourable outlook in the Gulf. Rents will stay on a rising curve, while capital values will be underpinned by high and rising demand.' Whilst the Oxford Business Group in a report on emerging markets predicted: 'The population of Abu Dhabi is expected to double in the next ten years leading to demand for between 225,000 and 250,000 new housing units.'

[brassplate]

don't know what the fuss is all about in OMAA.
personally, i'd rather be in a free, lush, semi-tropical, temperate, subsistant and self sufficient poor country washing boats for a living than living in a wealthy, arrogant, dusty, hot, desert of a country in slavery conditions.
....after i've made my bucks first in the desert.
make no mistake about it. i'm only here for one thing (it USED to be several things).....and it ain't the sand!

[Jet II]

One area being looked at is the manufacture of advanced aircraft structures, building on the experience of nationally-owned MRO company Gamco in composite repair work, says al Muhairi. He believes Abu Dhabi can create a "tier one supplier in the next five to 10 years" and "within my lifetime there is no reason we cannot replicate the Embraer story in Brazil".
LOL - GAMCO is haemoraging staff, 80 resigned last month alone. GAMCO will never be able to expand to meet the wild ideas of al Muhairi unless serious deals are done about the level of remuneration - and knowing GAMCO thats unlikely to happen.