Real estate companies Nakheel and Meydan have been merged under the umbrella of Dubai Holding, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, announced on Saturday.
Nakheel and Meydan are set to become part of Dubai Holding under the leadership of Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, the Executive Office said.
The boards of directors of Nakheel and Meydan will be abolished.
The two companies will join forces with Dubai Holding in an effort to sustain and advance growth through a unified and integrated vision that builds on gains, spurs efforts and boosts Dubai’s global competitiveness, the Executive Office added.
“In a new milestone to reinforce and boost our economic growth, today we directed the inclusion of Nakheel and Meydan companies under the umbrella of Dubai Holding, forming a global economic entity with a diverse portfolio in sectors such as technology, media, hospitality, real estate, retail, and more, led by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum,” Sheikh Mohammed said.
“The goal is to create a more financially efficient entity, owning assets worth hundreds of billions, and comprising global expertise across various sectors with which we can compete regionally and globally, achieving our national objectives, and realising the Dubai Economic Agenda D33.
“Wishing all the best to the team on this new mission … We are optimistic about an upcoming phase where we will multiply our growth, compete with our ambitions, and achieve our economic vision for our people.”
Since its establishment in 2004, Dubai Holding has aimed at fostering an innovation-driven knowledge-based economy, the Executive Office said.
Dubai Holding's portfolio includes Jumeirah Group, Dubai Properties and Tecom Group.
Tecom Group owns and operates 10 sector-focused business clusters, with Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City as its flagships.
Meanwhile, Nakheel and Meydan have unveiled several projects in sectors including property, retail, hospitality, food and beverage, leisure and entertainment and health care.
Nakheel and Meydan will join Dubai Holding to develop a highly diversified conglomerate operating in several sectors across property, tourism, hospitality, leisure and entertainment, and investments, the Executive Office said.
“This move is set to combine a complementary suite of services and expertise to diversify the economy and maximise their competitiveness in the global marketplace,” it added.
“This strategic vision will provide an ideal platform to address the growing demand for specialised services globally and seeks to leverage new opportunities that are emerging and serve the global demand expected in the long term.”
The beginnings of Dubai Holding are strongly interlinked with the emirate's strategies in positioning itself as a global business and tourism centre.
The conglomerate is active in sectors including hospitality, property, asset management, entertainment and investments.
It is the personal corporate portfolio of Sheikh Mohammed, with Sheikh Ahmed as its current chairman.
Dubai Holding is behind many of the emirate's key properties. Among the first projects it launched was Madinat Jumeirah, which opened in 2004.
In the two years that followed, the organisation launched Dubai Studio City, Dubai International Academic City, du and Emirates International Telecommunications, which invests in telecom companies around the world.
Dubai Holding also took on several existing projects, including Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City, both of which were vital in developing the emirate's media sector.
Tecom Group, which was a subsidiary of Dubai Holding, was established in 2005 to manage existing business districts and develop new ones with the government of Dubai.
Tecom is also behind Dubai Design District and Dubai Industrial City. Although Tecom went public in 2022, Dubai Holding remains a stakeholder.
Investments and joint ventures under the Dubai Holding portfolio include Dubai Hills Estate, du, Rove Hotels, and Dubai Waste Management Centre.
Projects under Meraas Holding and Merex Investment – a joint venture with Brookfield Asset Management – are also partly under the Dubai Holding umbrella. These include City Walk, La Mer and Bluewaters Island.
Dubai Holding also has the brands under Jumeirah Hotels group, such as Burj Al Arab, Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Hatta Wadi Hub, as well as hotels overseas, including Jumeirah Himalayas Hotel and Jumeirah Guangzhou.
Dubai Holding has several well-known developments under its entertainment division. Global Village, Ain Dubai, Dubai Parks and Resorts, Roxy Cinemas and the Wild Wadi waterpark are all within the conglomerate, along with radio stations, including Dubai 92, Dubai Eye and Virgin Radio.
Today, Dubai Holding has assets worth Dh130 billion ($35.4 billion) across more than a dozen countries.
“When we first started, we were faced with a challenging situation, as we only had one remote piece of land in Dubai and only a Dh200 million loan. Today the Group’s assets exceed Dh100 billion across different sectors,” Dubai Holding's former chairman Mohammad Al Gergawi said in 2017.
The merger of Nakheel and Meydan will open doors for more integration across sectors and collaboration within the property industry, according to Cherif Sleiman, chief revenue officer of Property Finder.
"Recent numbers have already been showing bright prospects for investments in the country. We believe this will further accelerate the availability of diverse project portfolios that cater to a constantly growing demand for various types of properties," he said.
"As a result, we expect property prices to stabilise in the mid term."
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
New UK refugee system
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What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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Notable salonnières of the Middle East through history
Al Khasan (Okaz, Saudi Arabia)
Tamadir bint Amr Al Harith, known simply as Al Khasan, was a poet from Najd famed for elegies, earning great renown for the eulogy of her brothers Mu’awiyah and Sakhr, both killed in tribal wars. Although not a salonnière, this prestigious 7th century poet fostered a culture of literary criticism and could be found standing in the souq of Okaz and reciting her poetry, publicly pronouncing her views and inviting others to join in the debate on scholarship. She later converted to Islam.
Maryana Marrash (Aleppo)
A poet and writer, Marrash helped revive the tradition of the salon and was an active part of the Nadha movement, or Arab Renaissance. Born to an established family in Aleppo in Ottoman Syria in 1848, Marrash was educated at missionary schools in Aleppo and Beirut at a time when many women did not receive an education. After touring Europe, she began to host salons where writers played chess and cards, competed in the art of poetry, and discussed literature and politics. An accomplished singer and canon player, music and dancing were a part of these evenings.
Princess Nazil Fadil (Cairo)
Princess Nazil Fadil gathered religious, literary and political elite together at her Cairo palace, although she stopped short of inviting women. The princess, a niece of Khedive Ismail, believed that Egypt’s situation could only be solved through education and she donated her own property to help fund the first modern Egyptian University in Cairo.
Mayy Ziyadah (Cairo)
Ziyadah was the first to entertain both men and women at her Cairo salon, founded in 1913. The writer, poet, public speaker and critic, her writing explored language, religious identity, language, nationalism and hierarchy. Born in Nazareth, Palestine, to a Lebanese father and Palestinian mother, her salon was open to different social classes and earned comparisons with souq of where Al Khansa herself once recited.
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