At 30,000 crore, Indians, the biggest foreign investors in real estate sector of Dubai

The Dubai land department released the figures last week, stating that Indians were the highest value foreign investors, making 7,353 transactions of 18.123 billion AED (Arab Emirates Dirham) worth of property deals. The investment also exceeds annual budgets of many small states of India, including Goa, Sikkim and Meghalaya.

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Indians were the biggest foreign investors in real estate sector of Dubai last year, having invested more than Rs 30,042 crore. The amount is almost equal to the annual budget of Bombay Municipal Corporation, which is around Rs 31,000 crore and comes close to Rs 35,000-crore plus annual budget of the national capital.

On the contrary, the total investment of United Arab Emirates in India in last 14 years is less than half of what Indians invest in real estate of Dubai every year.

The Dubai land department released the figures last week, stating that Indians were the highest value foreign investors, making 7,353 transactions of 18.123 billion AED (Arab Emirates Dirham) worth of property deals. The investment also exceeds annual budgets of many small states of India, including Goa, Sikkim and Meghalaya.

The lure of Dubai’s real estate market has resulted in many cash-rich Indians finding investments in that country more easy and profitable than in India.

“Most of the real estate developers in India are struggling with their projects, both residential and commercial. Naturally investors will go to places that promise huge returns,” Director General of National Real Estate Development Council, Brigadier (retd) R R Singh, told Zee Media. Even though the sector has shown a little improvement in last few months as per Singh, he reiterates that India continues to be ‘suppressed and economically subdued market as far as real estate is concerned.’

“We have attracted very less foreign investment in real estate sector. It would be just a few thousand crores in last financial quarter,” he added.

According to Indian government statistics, the country has received foreign investment of Rs 1.12 lakh crore in last 14 years from April 2000 to November 2014 in construction and development sector. And United Arab Emirates has invested just Rs 14,000 crore in India in last 14 years, across all sectors.

However, the other side of the story is that Dubai is also considered a tax haven, where huge amount of black money from India is allegedly parked or is routed through. According to sources, a few high profile and retired bureaucrats from India have also invested in the real estate sector of Dubai in 2014. However, individual transaction details could not be accessed yet.

In 2014, Dubai has received a total foreign investment of AED 109 billion from more than 41,000 investors in real estate sector.

One of the reasons for the resurgence of development in Dubai in last few years could also be World Expo 2020, the city is hosting. UAE has won the right to host the World Expo in Dubai in 2020 and it will be the first time that the world expo is staged in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.

“Dubai is an ideal investment location in Middle East and is competing with top investment cities in Asia and Europe. The report (on investments) clearly shows the sustainable growth of the upcoming years towards the launch of Expo2022″, said Director General of Dubai Land Department, Sultan Butti Bin Merjen.


The other big non-Arab foreign investors in Dubai include Pakistan, Britian, Iran and Canada.

Source: PropertyBlogs