Emaar Properties PJSC, the largest real-estate developer in the United Arab Emirates, reported a fourth-quarter loss and put new real-estate projects on hold. The net loss was 1.77 billion dirhams ($481 million) compared with a profit of 1.74 billion dirhams a year earlier. The fell a further 8 percent bringing the decline in 2009 to 19 percent, following an 85 percent last year.

Emaar Properties PJSC, the UAE’s largest developer, is one of several prominent Dubai firms seeking to borrow in order to fund expansion in the wake of a global financial crisis, tightened lending and plummeting property values.  Bloomberg reports today that “plans for a $2 billion euro medium-term note program guaranteed by Emaar and a $2 billion trust certificate program by a Shariah-compliant unit were approved by the U.K. Listing Authority.”  A unit of HSBC Holdings Plc will be the paying agent for both programs.  Analysts report that Emaar has about 9.1 billion dirhams ($2.5 billion) of outstanding debt, and cash and cash equivalents of 4.03 billion dirhams at the end of September. Other Dubai firms seeking cash include Dubai Bank, which announced in September that it planned to sell as much as $5 billion of Islamic bonds.  And Commercial Bank of ...

Looks like there are some property bulls left. Aldar Properties PJSC and Sorouh Real Estate PJSC, Abu Dhabi’s biggest developers, have been rated “buy” by Citigroup Inc. The rationale for the recommendation is that they trade at a discount to their net asset value. Citigroup estimated Aldar’s net asset value per share atbr /16.6 dirhams and Sorouh’s at 5.6 dirhams.br /br /Citigroup argue that the current share prices of Aldar and Sorouh imply a property price collapse, zero developer margin and no future low-cost land grants.

It was only a matter of time. Prices in Dubai are heading south. In particular, property prices on the Palm Jumeirah, the 'eighth wonder of the world', have plummeted by as much as 40pc since September. A four-bedroom house on the Palm,(developed by the Nakheel Group), is now selling for 10 million UAE dirhams (£1.8m), down from 15 million dirhams in September.

Article Source By Jeffrey Frankel Today, we're fortunate to have Jeff Frankel, Harpel Professor at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, as a guest blogger. His blog is here. The possibility that some Gulf states, particularly the UAE, might abandon their long-time pegs to the dollar is getting increasing attention (from Martin Feldstein and Brad Setser, for instance). It makes sense. The combination of high oil prices, rapid growth, a tightly fixed exchange rate, and the big depreciation of the dollar against other currencies (especially the euro, important for Gulf imports) was always going to be a recipe for strong money inflows and inflation in these countries. The economic dynamism -- most striking in Dubai -- is admirable and fascinating, but also now clearly indicative of overheating. Indeed inflation, as predicted, has risen alarmingly. Among other ill effects, it is producing ...