Dubai needs transparency to attract investment

MIDDLE EAST REAL ESTATE FORUM: Doing business in Dubai must become more transparent if the region hopes to attract significant overseas investment, delegates heard at the EG Middle East Real Estate Forum today. Speaking at the event hosted in Dubai, Rob Jackson, director of RICS Middle East & North Africa, said that a transparent market will be key to driving growth. “If everyone in the room is really frank about real estate here and whether it’s connected globally, a lot more needs to be done. We need to ask, ‘Is the market clear? Are standards clear?’ “How transparent are we? Sadly not very at the moment and we can’t rely on petrochemicals to funds development forever. We need to create a much more appropriate environment for investors to work in this region.” His Excellency Marwan bin Jason Al Sarkal, chief executive of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority, added that more collaboration across the emirates would be key to attracting overseas interest. He said: “Many things still need to be fixed. We have maturity as a market and yet we have policies and regulations that aren’t the same across all seven emirates. They need to be the same so we can be clear and attract investment. “Every emirate has its own strategy but policies need to stay the same. Someone has to take the lead and at the moment there is no federal body doing that.” But the panel agreed that steps have been made towards a more transparent market in the UAE. Magali Mouquet, executive director of Emirates REIT CEIC, which was the first REIT in the region when it launched in 2010, said the emergence of more REITs was a good sign of things to come. She said: “What we discovered when we set set up REIT was that everyone really appreciated the transparency and we hope to see many more REITs emerging in the region.” Steve Morgan, senior partner at Cluttons, added: “Sometimes navigating the nuances between the different regions is quite a challenge. Huge steps have been made but more transparency would really give confidence to international investors.” Middle East Real Estate Forum: Watch the debates, read the analysis >> To send feedback, e-mail emily.wright@egi.co.uk or tweet @EmilyW_9 or @estatesgazette