Emaar confirms discussion over sale of hotel assets is ongoing

Emaar Properties, Dubai's biggest listed developer, is in discussions with potential investors for the sale of some of its hotels.

The company will announce relevant details should the discussions materialise in a final transaction, Emaar Properties' general counsel and board secretary Ayman Hamdy said in a note to the Dubai Financial Markets on Thursday.

Emaar’s note comes amid market speculation that Abu Dhabi National Hotels was in talks to buy assets from the Dubai developer.

Emaar was in "advanced discussions" over the past two months regarding potential acquisitions, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The planned sale of some of Emaar’s hotel assets could help fund a Dh10 billion retail complex at Dubai Creek Harbour as the emirate's biggest developer seeks to become “asset light”, its chairman Mohamed Alabbar said in July.

Emaar Hospitality Group, a unit of the developer, plans to sell non-core assets including its hospitality portfolio except a handful of key valuable assets, to finance business growth and focus on hotel management contracts. Emaar Hospitality owns and manages a portfolio of assets including hotels, golf clubs and restaurants. Its main hotel brands are Address Hotels and Resorts, Vida Hotels and Resorts and Rove Hotels.

The main objective of an asset sale would be to help Emaar have a lighter cost base, Mr Alabbar said at the time.

“The thing is, we should not be holding assets as a hotel operator. Hotel companies don’t own assets – Four Seasons doesn’t own hotels, Hilton doesn’t own hotels, but we own everything and will continue to own the majority," he said.

Emaar, the developer behind the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, as well as other flagship properties such as the Dubai Mall, entered a strategic Dh30bn partnership with Abu Dhabi's Aldar Properties in March, as they looked to streamline operations in a lukewarm market environment.

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Abu Dhabi’s Aldar Q2 net profit slips 28 per cent as costs rise

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While the details of the partnership have yet to be fine tuned, Emaar posted a year-on-year net profit increase of 2 per cent for the second quarter, while Aldar slumped by 28 per cent during the same period.

Net profit for the three months ended June 30 rose to Dh1.48bn for Emaar.

WWE TLC results

Asuka won the SmackDown Women's title in a TLC triple threat with Becky Lynch and Charlotte Flair

Dean Ambrose won the Intercontinental title against Seth Rollins

Daniel Bryan retained the WWE World Heavyweight Championship against AJ Styles

Ronda Rousey retained the Raw Women's Championship against Nia Jax

Rey Mysterio beat Randy Orton in a chairs match

Finn Balor defeated Drew McIntyre

Natalya beat Ruby Riott in a tables match

Braun Strowman beat Baron Corbin in a TLC match

Sheamus and Cesaro retained the SmackDown Tag Titles against The Usos and New Day

R-Truth and Carmella won the Mixed Match Challenge by beating Jinder Mahal and Alicia Fox

ENGLAND%20SQUAD

%3Cp%3EFor%20Euro%202024%20qualifers%20away%20to%20Malta%20on%20June%2016%20and%20at%20home%20to%20North%20Macedonia%20on%20June%2019%3A%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EGoalkeepers%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Johnstone%2C%20Pickford%2C%20Ramsdale.%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDefenders%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Alexander-Arnold%2C%20Dunk%2C%20Guehi%2C%20Maguire%2C%20%20Mings%2C%20Shaw%2C%20Stones%2C%20Trippier%2C%20Walker.%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMidfielders%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bellingham%2C%20Eze%2C%20Gallagher%2C%20Henderson%2C%20%20Maddison%2C%20Phillips%2C%20Rice.%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EForwards%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFoden%2C%20Grealish%2C%20Kane%2C%20Rashford%2C%20Saka%2C%20Wilson.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A

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 green is the expo nursery?

Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery

An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo

Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery

Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape

The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides

All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality

Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country

Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow

Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site

Green waste is recycled as compost

Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs

Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers

About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer

Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.

Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months

Bombshell

Director: Jay Roach

Stars: Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie

Four out of five stars

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

FIRST TEST SCORES

England 458
South Africa 361 & 119 (36.4 overs)

England won by 211 runs and lead series 1-0

Player of the match: Moeen Ali (England)

At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances

Duterte Harry: Fire and Fury in the Philippines
Jonathan Miller, Scribe Publications

The specs: 2018 Harley-Davidson Fat Boy

Price, base / as tested Dh97,600
Engine 1,745cc Milwaukee-Eight v-twin engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 78hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque 145Nm @ 3,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.0L / 100km (estimate)

A MINECRAFT MOVIE

Director: Jared Hess

Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa

Rating: 3/5

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.