BUSINESS & JOBS

Dubai-based interiors contractor Depa Ltd fell into the red in the first half of the year due to an outstanding claim relating to a project, it said on Thursday, sending its shares lower. Depa said in a statement it made a net loss of 103.6 million dirhams ($28.21 million) due to a claim relating to Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower in Dubai.

Cluttons, property consultants and estate agents, estimates there are about 2,000 owners’ associations in Dubai with Burj Khalifa having seven. The Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Rera) has set an October deadline to complete all documentation process and register owners’ associations.

Depa Limited, the interior design contractor who fitted out the Emirates Palace Hotel, Burj Al Arab and Burj Khalifa, has signed a $60m contract in Angola, the Dubai-based company announced on Wednesday. Based in Dubai, but with sixteen offices and 8,000 staff worldwide, Depa has worked on projects such as the Atlantis Hotel, Armani Hotel and Burj Al Arab in Dubai, Yas Island and Emirates Palace hotels in Abu Dhabi, the Dubai Metro, Dubai Airport and the Savoy and Waldorf hotels in London.

Depa Limited, the interior design contractor who fitted out the Emirates Palace Hotel, Burj Al Arab and Burj Khalifa, has signed a $60m contract in Angola, the Dubai-based company announced on Wednesday. Based in Dubai, but with sixteen offices and 8,000 staff worldwide, Depa has worked on projects such as the Atlantis Hotel, Armani Hotel and Burj Al Arab in Dubai, Yas Island and Emirates Palace hotels in Abu Dhabi, the Dubai Metro, Dubai Airport and the Savoy and Waldorf hotels in London.

Emaar Properties, the developer of the world’s tallest tower in Dubai, incurred a loss of 38.5 million dirhams ($10 million) from the sale of Hamptons Group Ltd.’s operations in Europe, UK and Asia to Countrywide. The property sold is building Number 5 in the Emaar Square project near Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, and houses the local offices of HSBC Holdings Plc, The National newspaper reported today, citing people it didn’t identify.

In January, for example, Emaar flipped the switch at the gala opening of Burj Khalifa to reveal the final height at 828 metres, making it the highest freestanding structure in the world as recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records. In June, Abu Dhabi's new Capital Gate Tower was also recognized by Guinness as the world's furthest-leaning tower with an 18-degree slant compared to the Leaning Tower of Pisa at four degrees.

Emaar Properties, the Dubai-based developer, posted an AED802 million profit for the second quarter after the handover of a number of properties to investors. Revenue for the second quarter stood at AED1.94 billion, a rise of 37% on the same period last year. First-half revenues reached AED5.538 billion, a 59% rise on the AED3.481 of the first six months of 2009. The handovers include sales of around 24% of units in the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, a project critical to the company’s fortunes.

Are you aware of the fact that the real estate market in Dubai has really hit the skies with foreign investors? The reason is that all the investment gurus are lining to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the city, thanks to the gorgeous buildings been erected. All of us are aware of the Burj Khalifa?

Blame it on the Burj. The slow delivery of homes in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa, the tallest tower in the world, was the main drag on Emaar Properties’s profits for the second quarter. The Dubai developer’s share price fell 3.56 per cent yesterday to Dh3.25 as investors responded to news that its net profit for the quarter came in at Dh802 million, as opposed to the Dh958m forecast by analysts.

Dubai rents have plunged over the last year and property experts predict they are set to fall even further, causing an influx of people keen to move to the emirate. Studios in International City can now be snapped up for as little as dhs22,000 a year down from dhs60,000 18 months ago. At the other end of the market, a studio in the world's tallest building, Burj Khalifa, costs just dhs100,000 with one-bedroom apartments in the prestigious address starting at around dhs160,000 a year.