Total bank exposure to the property market stood at Dh232 billion, the Central Bank said in a report released yesterday. Christopher Pike / The National
Total bank exposure to the property market stood at Dh232 billion, the Central Bank said in a report released yesterday. Christopher Pike / The National

Fifth of UAE banks' assets in property



Nearly four years after the UAE housing boom first began to deflate, banks still hold about a fifth of their total assets in the property market.

Total bank exposure to the property market stood at Dh232 billion (US$63.16bn), the Central Bank said in a report released yesterday.

The net amount represents 21.5 per cent of banks' deposit base and 21.3 per cent of their total net loans and advances.

The Central Bank examined the impact of the property boom and bust on the banking system in its Financial Stability report.

Like the US savings and loans crisis in the 1980s, the property crash in Japan and Sweden in the 1990s and the more recent western sub-prime crisis, the UAE's property downturn hurt banks' balance sheets. "As we have learnt from other countries' experiences, real estate booms and busts can have far-reaching consequences for a country's banking system, the Central Bank report said.

"The UAE real estate market witnessed a similar pattern, a boom during the years 2005 to 2007 followed by a bust in 2008."

But it said banks had been saved from further pain by the large concentration of development activity in the hands of government-related firms. The developers Nakheel, Limitless and Aldar are among those to receive Government support to help clear debts and start afresh.

"This has enabled the bust cycle to evolve in a controlled environment and limited the systemic spillover," the report said. Signs suggest the property market is starting to stabilise and pick up in some areas. Sales crept up in Dubai during the second quarter compared with the previous quarter, according to data from the property consultancy CBRE.

Banks, too, are reporting an increased appetite in lending to people buying houses and others investing in the property market.

"It's more of a case of steady as she goes now compared to 2007 and 2008," said Craig Plumb, the head of research at Jones Lang LaSalle, a property consultancy, adding last year and this year "have been more stable with the market starting to improve selectively".

The Central Bank data offer a snapshot of the state of investment in the market.

A total of 45.1 per cent of banks' exposure in the property market relates to individuals, with more to UAE nationals than expatriates. Corporate investors, the next largest group, represent 30.8 per cent of lenders' funding.

Much of the investment relates to commercial and residential property companies, in addition to hotels, shopping malls and warehouses. A further 24.1 per cent of banks' exposure is with developers.

The data also examine property investments outside of the banking system. UAE nationals have a larger exposure to property than foreigners, show the data. Nationals have invested Dh37bn in the residential segment and a further Dh30bn in commercial projects. Foreigners have invested a similar amount in residential, Dh37.6bn, but less in commercial at only Dh4.4bn.

However, businesses have the largest exposure, the data show. Companies have Dh132bn of investments with more than half of the amount related to the purchase or construction of residential buildings.

The report said companies in the property industry had been working to boost their health.

Firms have cut their leverage ratio from 212 per cent in 2010 to 158 per cent last year, it said.

"Such deleveraging has come mainly in the form of write-downs of asset values which impacted the sector's profitability, resulting in yet another negative return on equity of minus 6 per cent in 2011," the report said.

"This, however, is a marked improvement from the large losses suffered in 2010."

How quickly developers and banks can return to profits is likely to help determine how fast the UAE can rebound.

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

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Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

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South Africa 335 & 75/1 (22.0 ov)
England 205
South Africa lead by 205 runs with 9 wickets remaining

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From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

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Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

PREMIER LEAGUE STATS

Romelu Lukaku's goalscoring statistics in the Premier League 
Season/club/appearances (substitute)/goals

2011/12 Chelsea: 8(7) - 0
2012/13 West Brom (loan): 35(15) - 17
2013/14 Chelsea: 2(2) - 0
2013/14 Everton (loan): 31(2) - 15
2014/15 Everton: 36(4) - 10
2015/16 Everton: 37(1) - 18
2016/17 Everton: 37(1) - 25  

UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES

All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated

Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid

Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona

Meydan racecard:

6.30pm: Handicap | US$135,000 (Dirt) | 1,400 metres

7.05pm: Handicap | $135,000 (Turf) | 1,200m

7.40pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes | Group 3 | $200,000 (T) | 2,000m

8.15pm: UAE Oaks | Group 3 | $250,000 (D) | 1,900m

8.50pm: Zabeel Mile | Group 2 | $250,000 (T) | 1,600m

9.20pm: Handicap | $135,000 (T) | 1,600m

PROFILE OF HALAN

Started: November 2017

Founders: Mounir Nakhla, Ahmed Mohsen and Mohamed Aboulnaga

Based: Cairo, Egypt

Sector: transport and logistics

Size: 150 employees

Investment: approximately $8 million

Investors include: Singapore’s Battery Road Digital Holdings, Egypt’s Algebra Ventures, Uber co-founder and former CTO Oscar Salazar

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Match info

Uefa Champions League Group F

Manchester City v Hoffenheim, midnight (Wednesday, UAE)

Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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Rating: 2/5
 

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Where to buy

Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com

Your rights as an employee

The government has taken an increasingly tough line against companies that fail to pay employees on time. Three years ago, the Cabinet passed a decree allowing the government to halt the granting of work permits to companies with wage backlogs.

The new measures passed by the Cabinet in 2016 were an update to the Wage Protection System, which is in place to track whether a company pays its employees on time or not.

If wages are 10 days late, the new measures kick in and the company is alerted it is in breach of labour rules. If wages remain unpaid for a total of 16 days, the authorities can cancel work permits, effectively shutting off operations. Fines of up to Dh5,000 per unpaid employee follow after 60 days.

Despite those measures, late payments remain an issue, particularly in the construction sector. Smaller contractors, such as electrical, plumbing and fit-out businesses, often blame the bigger companies that hire them for wages being late.

The authorities have urged employees to report their companies at the labour ministry or Tawafuq service centres — there are 15 in Abu Dhabi.

COMPANY PROFILE

Company name: SimpliFi

Started: August 2021

Founder: Ali Sattar

Based: UAE

Industry: Finance, technology

Investors: 4DX, Rally Cap, Raed, Global Founders, Sukna and individuals

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Airev
Started: September 2023
Founder: Muhammad Khalid
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Generative AI
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
 
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The rules on fostering in the UAE

A foster couple or family must:

  • be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
  • not be younger than 25 years old
  • not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
  • be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
  • have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
  • undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
  • A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially