INDIANS TOP INVESTORS IN DUBAI REALTY MARKET

Indians have been ranked first among foreign investors in Dubai's real estate sector, making a total of 4,417 transactions worth nearly USD 3 billion in the first half of the year, according to an official report. Indians, British and Pakistanis ranked top three foreign investors in Dubai's real estate market with a combined share of Dh20.83 billion for 9,739 transactions in the first half of the year, according to the report by the Dubai Land Department (DLD). The DLD's list included the amount of real estate transactions conducted by foreign nationals, with investors from India, Pakistan, Britain, Canada, Russia, China, USA, France and Afghanistan involved in 14,231 property deals worth a total of Dh 30.533 billion for the first half of 2014. Indian nationals were ranked first for foreign investment, making a total of 4,417 transactions worth Dh 10.523 billion (USD 2.865 billion), Khaleej Times reported. British investors were in second place with 2,258 transactions worth Dh5.811 billion, followed by Pakistani investors with 3,064 transactions worth Dh 4.5 billion. Iranian and Canadian investors came in at fourth and fifth place, with transactions worth Dh2.7 billion and Dh1.9 billion respectively. Citizens from Russia, US and China occupied sixth, seventh and eighth places respectively, creating more than one billion dirhams worth of property invested in each category of national. "We are extremely proud of these positive results, as they reflect a building momentum in Dubai's real estate market which has now reasserted itself on both the regional and global stage. We are certain that the future will see even more demand, especially in light of the government's declaration of forthcoming major projects," said Sultan Butti bin Mejren, Director-General of DLD. The government organisation accompanied their announcement with a breakdown of nationalities making property investments in the first six months of 2014, which reported that Jordanians topped the list of Arab investors, with Indian nationals ranked first for foreigner investment.