For years, the real estate sector in Dubai has seemed to follow only one direction: upwards. Total transactions in the emirate amounted to 761 billion dirhams (207 billion dollars), marking a 17% increase within the year.

Consequently, there are growing concerns about a rapid and unhealthy downturn. Not so for BlackRock and Permira. The two investment giants announced in early September that they would jointly invest 525 million dollars in propertyfinder.ae. According to the Financial Times, the website, founded in 2005 with its simple yet clear design, is valued at 2 billion dollars.

Bank deals

Private bank Rothschild & Co. announced on its website in early September that, as part of an intermediary agreement, it would take over the business operations of Liechtensteinische Landesbank (LLB) in the UAE (offices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi) and integrate the 20 local employees into the company.

The Saudi Arabian sovereign wealth fund PIF and Macquarie Asset Management from Australia agreed on September 8 to jointly invest in infrastructure for the energy transition. This includes charging stations for electric vehicles, energy storage systems, and the associated digital infrastructure. Additionally, Macquarie will open a branch in Riyadh, the Saudi capital.

Banking on tourism

The travel fever in the region has also caught the attention of the entertainment industry. In mid-August, A&O Shearman’s legal advisors assisted the Abu Dhabi Department of Culture and Tourism (DCT Abu Dhabi) in its strategic agreements with Sphere Entertainment Group.

«The transaction paves the way for the development of Sphere Abu Dhabi, the first Sphere venue outside Las Vegas. Strategically located in a prime neighborhood of Abu Dhabi, the venue will mirror the scale and ambitions of the 20,000-seat Sphere in Las Vegas,» says A&O Shearman on its website.

However, expansion is not on the agenda everywhere. The French retail group Carrefour is pulling out of Kuwait and Bahrain, closing its supermarket network there, as reported by The National. The vacated retail spaces will be taken over by the Majid Al-Futtaim Group from Dubai, which will install its Hypermax grocery chain branches in these locations.

Carrefour stores will remain in Dubai, as well as in many other Middle Eastern cities like Beirut, where they continue to be operated by Majid Al-Futtaim in partnership with Carrefour. In Saudi Arabia, Carrefour opened four new branches in May of this year.