Developer in fresh Russian quest
Wednesday, 13 February 2008
Simeon Kerr
LIMITLESS and RDI Group of Moscow, its joint-venture partner, will develop a town for 14,000 residents near Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. Imad Benharouga, director of corporate strategy, says Russia is one of the company's strategic markets, where it sees strong economic growth translating into long-term prospects for property development.
It is Limitless's second attempt to break into the Russian property market, after it pulled out of the $11bn (€7.5bn, £5.6bn) Great Domodedevo project in Moscow last year. The Dubai group says it has "every confidence" that this smaller residential development will go ahead.
Russians have been key investors in Dubai's booming property market and the momentum behind Gulf investment flows back into Russia seems to be building.
Several of the region's sovereign wealth funds have been increasingly citing Russia as a potential investment destination, complementing existing interest in the largely Muslim central Asian republics.
Recently, a private United Arab Emirates-based company said it would build a $4.5bn oil refinery and petrochemical complex in the region of Chelyabinsk Oblast. And Dubai World, Limitless's parent company which oversees Dubai's ports, held talks with the Russian government over commercial cooperation.
Dubai, which has made hundreds of billions of US dollars through land sales in the booming emirate, is now seeking to diversify through international projects. Emaar Properties, a large regional group, has launched residential and commercial developments in Saudi Arabia, India and north Africa, while Limitless's sister company Istithmar has made high-profile investments in hotel and office blocks in Europe and the US.
In what it defines as "strategic" markets such as Russia, India and China, Limitless plans to pursue several developments at the same time. It is also developing a $12bn new city development outside the technology centre in Bangalore, India - part of its global portfolio of seven projects valued at more than $100bn.
The company is also targeting investments in the oil boom towns of the Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia. It is developing a township outside the Saudi capital, Riyadh, where the private sector is taking off, as vast oil revenues gush through the economy.
Limitless is also close to handing over its first completed buildings, four commercial towers that will form the centrepiece of Downtown Jebel Ali, a commercial and residential hub of more than 300 buildings near the port of Jebel Ali, one of the main engines of Dubai's economy.
Another sister company Nakheel is working on Dubai's offshore reclaimed island developments, and Limitless also hopes to focus on waterfront projects, with two announced in Malaysia and Vietnam.
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— FT Syndication Service
LIMITLESS and RDI Group of Moscow, its joint-venture partner, will develop a town for 14,000 residents near Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport. Imad Benharouga, director of corporate strategy, says Russia is one of the company's strategic markets, where it sees strong economic growth translating into long-term prospects for property development.
It is Limitless's second attempt to break into the Russian property market, after it pulled out of the $11bn (€7.5bn, £5.6bn) Great Domodedevo project in Moscow last year. The Dubai group says it has "every confidence" that this smaller residential development will go ahead.
Russians have been key investors in Dubai's booming property market and the momentum behind Gulf investment flows back into Russia seems to be building.
Several of the region's sovereign wealth funds have been increasingly citing Russia as a potential investment destination, complementing existing interest in the largely Muslim central Asian republics.
Recently, a private United Arab Emirates-based company said it would build a $4.5bn oil refinery and petrochemical complex in the region of Chelyabinsk Oblast. And Dubai World, Limitless's parent company which oversees Dubai's ports, held talks with the Russian government over commercial cooperation.
Dubai, which has made hundreds of billions of US dollars through land sales in the booming emirate, is now seeking to diversify through international projects. Emaar Properties, a large regional group, has launched residential and commercial developments in Saudi Arabia, India and north Africa, while Limitless's sister company Istithmar has made high-profile investments in hotel and office blocks in Europe and the US.
In what it defines as "strategic" markets such as Russia, India and China, Limitless plans to pursue several developments at the same time. It is also developing a $12bn new city development outside the technology centre in Bangalore, India - part of its global portfolio of seven projects valued at more than $100bn.
The company is also targeting investments in the oil boom towns of the Gulf, especially Saudi Arabia. It is developing a township outside the Saudi capital, Riyadh, where the private sector is taking off, as vast oil revenues gush through the economy.
Limitless is also close to handing over its first completed buildings, four commercial towers that will form the centrepiece of Downtown Jebel Ali, a commercial and residential hub of more than 300 buildings near the port of Jebel Ali, one of the main engines of Dubai's economy.
Another sister company Nakheel is working on Dubai's offshore reclaimed island developments, and Limitless also hopes to focus on waterfront projects, with two announced in Malaysia and Vietnam.
........................................
— FT Syndication Service