Union Properties has agreed to transfer to Emirates NBD Dh1.1 billion (US$299 million) of assets in two of the Dubai financial district's most dramatic buildings as it seeks to restructure its debt.
The bank, the developer's largest shareholder, will now own a "significant" percentage of the homes and offices in the two properties - The Index Tower, an 80-storey residential and office building designed by Foster + Partners, and Limestone House, a luxury apartment development.
Emirates NBD is also extending the repayment terms on Dh2.7bn of debt until 2017.
"It's a move that makes sense," said Ian Albert, the regional director of the property consultancy Colliers International. "Union Properties rationalises its debt and puts themselves in a better position."
The developer's shares rose 12.2 per cent yesterday on the Dubai Financial Market General Index to close at 26.5 fils, down from a high of 40 fils in August.
Union Properties was hit hard by the downturn in the Dubai property market, where property prices have fallen by more than 50 per cent in some areas since the peak in 2008. For the past two years the company has been working to relieve its debt burden.
In November 2010, the company sold the Ritz-Carlton hotel in the Dubai International Financial Centre to an undisclosed private company in Abu Dhabi for Dh1.1bn. Ten months earlier it had announced an asking price of Dh1.5bn.
In its financial statement released last November, the company listed Dh6.1bn of obligations, including Dh1.7bn due this year. At the time, the company said it was in the "final stages" of rescheduling Dh1.4bn of loans.
The company reported a record Dh1bn loss in the third quarter, after writing down the value of its property portfolio by Dh1.7bn in the first nine months of the year.
A "significant shareholder" - presumed to be Emirates NBD - had agreed to fund the company's ongoing projects, Union Properties said.
The new deal with Emirates NBD "reinforces the bank's role in reanimating the company and pulling it up from the repercussions of the global financial crisis", Khalid bin Kalban, the Union Properties chairman, said in an interview with Al Bayan.
Extending the loan-payment period also provided the company "with protection against more liquidation of assets", he said.
The Union Properties portfolio of residential and commercial developments includes the Green Community and Motor City in Dubailand, and Jumeirah Park Villas.
But Index Tower and Limestone are considered the jewels of the portfolio. Index was named the best tall building in the Middle East and North Africa last year by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.
"It's a good deal for both parties," said Richard Paul, the associate director for the property firm Cluttons. "They are units and developments that are doing well in the market."
Developments in the DIFC are performing better than in many other areas of Dubai, analysts say.
"Yes, there are a lot of units coming to the market," Mr Paul said. "But it's an area that people are keen to live in."
Several UAE developers have moved in recent months to pare down their short-term debt load.
Last month, Aldar Properties sold Dh16.8bn of assets to the Abu Dhabi Government. The deal included Central Market and hundreds of homes on Raha Beach. And Emaar Properties arranged Dh3.6bn of long-term financing from a trio of UAE banks, using Dubai Mall as collateral.
kbrass@thenational.ae
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Founder: Ayman Badawi
Date started: Test product September 2016, paid launch January 2017
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software
Size: Seven employees
Funding: $170,000 in angel investment
Funders: friends
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
HOW TO WATCH
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Match info:
Real Betis v Sevilla, 10.45pm (UAE)
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How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Simon Nadim has completed 7,000 dives.
The hardest dive in the UAE is the German U-boat 110m down off the Fujairah coast.
As a child, he loved the documentaries of Jacques Cousteau
He also led a team that discovered the long-lost portion of the Ines oil tanker.
If you are interested in diving, he runs the XR Hub Dive Centre in Fujairah
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Tales of Yusuf Tadros
Adel Esmat (translated by Mandy McClure)
Hoopoe
The Saga Continues
Wu-Tang Clan
(36 Chambers / Entertainment One)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
MATCH INFO
Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai
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Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
