By IANS,
Muscat : Around 35 Indian companies are participating in the three-day Indian Realty Expo 2008, which concludes here Saturday.
Organised by the Maharashtra Chamber of Housing Industry (MCHI), the exhibition is showcasing some of India’s prestigious properties including some high-end properties targeted at high net worth individuals and NRIs.
Indian Consul to Dubai Partha Ray said a number of NRIs and people of Indian origin, especially professionals, in the Gulf and other countries are being attracted by the rapidly growing economy of India.
“It’s all about living in your own country,” the Khaleej Times quoted Ray as saying.
“It’s that sense of belonging,” he said.
There are about 1.5 million Indians in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and 5.5 million across the Gulf region.
MCHI chief executive Zubin Mehta said his company expected to sustain growth in the number of transactions closed through the exhibition.
MCHI, which has been holding the show in Dubai twice every year since 2002, saw total sales of 442.4 million dirhams (Rs.5 billion). The next show will be in October.
Mehta said the most sought-after properties were in India’s major cities, among them Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata.
The value of property has appreciated by 60 percent in urban centres and 40 percent in the suburbs, he told the newspaper.
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Qatar, Bahrain to launch bank together
The Gulf states of Qatar and Bahrain are soon going to launch a bank as part of a string of joint venture projects between the two countries.
Chairman of Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry (BCCI) Essam Fakhroo said the new bank would be an initiative of the chambers of commerce of the two countries, according to a report in Qatar’s Peninsula newspaper.
He said both the BCCI and Qatar Chamber of Commerce and Industry (QCCI) have agreed on several projects including the bank and they have already set up a joint Islamic finance-compliant insurance company.
The two industry bodies had last year agreed to set up several joint ventures including a bank, investment, insurance, transport and real estate development companies, an aluminium smelter plant and a glass factory, among others.
Recently the two countries had announced a joint new causeway project.
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‘Dubai set to become world’s top marine tourism destination’
Dubai is set to become the world’s largest marine sports and tourism destination with the addition of over 51,000 new marinas and a number of large harbours and ports waiting to be built in the emirate.
Director of Marinas at real estate giant Nakheel and managing director of Dubai International Marine Club Saeed Hareb said the colossal projects like Nakheel and the World, the largest cluster of man-made islands in the Arabian sea, were testimony to the strong base of resources and expertise in Dubai, according to the state-run Emirates News Agency (WAM).
Speaking on the final day of the Arabian Travel Mart (ATM) 2008 tourism event, which concluded in Dubai Friday, Hareb said a number of new marinas were being planned in the face of growing demand.
Nakheel launched a number of new projects during its participation in the ATM 2008.