Dubai continues to benefit from crisis and the Russia-Ukraine war, Damac chair says

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Dubai's spot assemblage is going from spot to strength, arsenic maturation and betterment successful the oil-rich Arab Gulf states pull much overseas residents, companies and investors.

Property transactions successful Dubai year-to-date deed a grounds precocious by the extremity of 2022, surpassing erstwhile records reached implicit the aforesaid play of 2009, according to CBRE. The hike tin beryllium partially attributed to the geopolitical crisis, which has benefitted Dubai and the United Arab Emirates.

"Dubai is simply a hub, and Dubai benefitted from the Iran-Iraq war, from the Kuwait-Iraq war, from [the] American-Iraq war, from the Arab Spring," Hussain Sajwani, Chairman of Damac, 1 of the UAE's largest backstage developers, told CNBC's Hadley Gamble astatine the World Economic Forum successful Davos. "So Dubai continues to payment contiguous from the Russian-Ukrainian war, unfortunately."

Within weeks of Moscow's full-scale penetration of Ukraine, waves of Russian nationals came to Dubai to reside and put their wealth into property, wherever it would beryllium safeguarded from Western sanctions. Several existent property professionals successful the glitzy, tourist-popular emirates told CNBC that Russian parties made up the highest proportionality of transactions by nationality for the past twelvemonth among their lawsuit base. Sajwani estimated Russian nationals comprised astir 15% of his lawsuit base.

Dubai was already seeing its hottest existent property marketplace successful years wrong the aboriginal months of the war. Sales successful the assemblage roseate 45% year-on-year successful April 2022 and 51% successful May, according to the Dubai Land Department.

Economic troubles successful different large cities are besides contributing to Dubai's increasing popularity, Sajwani said. "Dubai benefitted from the higher taxes successful Europe, [and from] deficiency of information successful London, Paris and different European cities."

Dubai is the commercialized and leisure superior of the UAE, boasting a astir 90% expat colonisation and offering zero income tax. It has been ranked among the world's safest cities for years, owed successful ample portion to highly restrictive laws and a superior punishment strategy that has been criticized by galore quality rights groups.

Sajwani thinks Dubai surviving costs and the city's spot marketplace volition proceed to climb.

"Dubai is becoming expensive, and it volition beryllium much expensive. It's a information of life, due to the fact that [when] you person tons of affluent radical successful ample corporations, the request goes up," helium said.

Many residents person complained of rental prices expanding by 50% oregon much year-on-year, arsenic immoderate look to downsize for much affordable accommodation. Asked if radical would beryllium priced retired of Dubai, Sajwani said,  "No, I don't deliberation so."

Despite acknowledging the affirmative interaction that overseas struggle has sometimes had connected the UAE's economy, the spot magnate is inactive good alert of the risks of genuine information to the country.

"Regional conflicts, for God's sake, if determination is immoderate large warfare similar what happened betwixt Iraq and Iran, if we get a large warfare betwixt Iran and Israel, America oregon whatever... that volition person an interaction connected the country," helium said.