Al Habtoor Group postponed an initial share sale because it did not see sufficient opportunities to invest the proceeds and may now consider a public offering in 2014.
"We thought we will take that money and go to the markets and buy what we want," the chairman Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor said. "We looked at safe markets, like Germany and Britain and we found that in the areas we know, there is nothing but recession. We didn't find an opportunity that would give us good return to give shareholders."
The company will rely on cash from operations to fund projects, including a new skyscraper with more than 800 luxury apartments on a canal in Dubai, he said. Construction of the tower will start late next year or in early 2014 and is set to be under construction for two years. He said a decision had not been made on whether the 800 homes would be rented or sold.
The company is already building a US$1.3 billion (Dh4.77bn) hotel complex in Dubai. Grant Thornton, the accounting firm, valued Al Habtoor Group, which includes hospitality, property and automotive divisions, at $6.06bn.
Mr Al Habtoor said he searched markets in eastern and western Europe as well as Asia for hotels, property and other assets and said he was not convinced of their earnings potential. He said the initial public offering (IPO) plan was motivated by his desire to ensure the continuity of his company and not by a need for cash.
"I don't need to take peoples' money and put it in the bank," Mr Al Habtoor said. "They can do that themselves."
Trading volumes in Dubai are near a six-year low and global banks have been cutting staff to reduce costs. Al Habtoor Group, which has been weighing an IPO for about 20 years, said it would delay the share sale last week.
At the time of the announcement of the delay, Mr Al Habtoor had said: "After a thorough evaluation I have decided to postpone the IPO. It is a moral issue not taking the group public at this time. I will continue to focus on best practice and growing the company in a sustainable way."
Mr Al Habtoor said he was investing about $1.6bn on various projects. He was also considering plans for a five-star hotel in Minsk, Belarus. The group owns six hotels and has four more in various stages of construction, including the Waldorf Astoria on The Palm Jumeirah.
"We will finance from our cash flows and according to the company's cash flow strength," Mr Al Habtoor said.
He added that cash from operations at the group may surge by 50 per cent to 60 per cent by the end of 2016 as most of the hotels under construction become operational and other projects reach fruition. Profit next year might climb 10 per cent across the group, he said, without providing details.
Mr Al Habtoor said Al Habtoor Leighton Group, the construction joint venture with Australia's biggest building firm in which he is the minority shareholder, expects its order backlog to be at least Dh40bn next year.
The joint venture is seeing increased demand for building across the Middle East, Mr Al Habtoor said.
"They have started seeing an increase in the number of contracts," he said. "They have some in Qatar, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Saudi Arabia and Iraq."
Leighton Group, which is building the Paris Sorbonne University campus in Abu Dhabi, is also building a $1.3bn hotel complex owned by Mr Al Habtoor.
"We are not prepared to make a forecast at this time," said Justin Grogan, a Leighton Group spokesman, about the joint venture's prospects for next year. The company might include a 2013 forecast in its full-year results to be released in February, he added. Al Habtoor and Leighton Group started their joint venture in 2007.
* Bloomberg News
MATCH INFO
Kolkata Knight Riders 245/6 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 214/8 (20 ovs)
Kolkata won by 31 runs
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Where to buy
Limited-edition art prints of The Sofa Series: Sultani can be acquired from Reem El Mutwalli at www.reemelmutwalli.com
Spider-Man%202
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Insomniac%20Games%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%20Sony%20Interactive%20Entertainment%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPlayStation%205%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%205%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
French Touch
Carla Bruni
(Verve)
Royal wedding inspired menu
Ginger, citrus and orange blossom iced tea
Avocado ranch dip with crudites
Cucumber, smoked salmon and cream cheese mini club sandwiches
Elderflower and lemon syllabub meringue
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours.
The package
Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.
Where to donate in the UAE
The Emirates Charity Portal
You can donate to several registered charities through a “donation catalogue”. The use of the donation is quite specific, such as buying a fan for a poor family in Niger for Dh130.
The General Authority of Islamic Affairs & Endowments
The site has an e-donation service accepting debit card, credit card or e-Dirham, an electronic payment tool developed by the Ministry of Finance and First Abu Dhabi Bank.
Al Noor Special Needs Centre
You can donate online or order Smiles n’ Stuff products handcrafted by Al Noor students. The centre publishes a wish list of extras needed, starting at Dh500.
Beit Al Khair Society
Beit Al Khair Society has the motto “From – and to – the UAE,” with donations going towards the neediest in the country. Its website has a list of physical donation sites, but people can also contribute money by SMS, bank transfer and through the hotline 800-22554.
Dar Al Ber Society
Dar Al Ber Society, which has charity projects in 39 countries, accept cash payments, money transfers or SMS donations. Its donation hotline is 800-79.
Dubai Cares
Dubai Cares provides several options for individuals and companies to donate, including online, through banks, at retail outlets, via phone and by purchasing Dubai Cares branded merchandise. It is currently running a campaign called Bookings 2030, which allows people to help change the future of six underprivileged children and young people.
Emirates Airline Foundation
Those who travel on Emirates have undoubtedly seen the little donation envelopes in the seat pockets. But the foundation also accepts donations online and in the form of Skywards Miles. Donated miles are used to sponsor travel for doctors, surgeons, engineers and other professionals volunteering on humanitarian missions around the world.
Emirates Red Crescent
On the Emirates Red Crescent website you can choose between 35 different purposes for your donation, such as providing food for fasters, supporting debtors and contributing to a refugee women fund. It also has a list of bank accounts for each donation type.
Gulf for Good
Gulf for Good raises funds for partner charity projects through challenges, like climbing Kilimanjaro and cycling through Thailand. This year’s projects are in partnership with Street Child Nepal, Larchfield Kids, the Foundation for African Empowerment and SOS Children's Villages. Since 2001, the organisation has raised more than $3.5 million (Dh12.8m) in support of over 50 children’s charities.
Noor Dubai Foundation
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum launched the Noor Dubai Foundation a decade ago with the aim of eliminating all forms of preventable blindness globally. You can donate Dh50 to support mobile eye camps by texting the word “Noor” to 4565 (Etisalat) or 4849 (du).
The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
