Dubai real estate: luxury properties 5 times bigger than London, for the same price? Chinese investment in UAE hits an all-time high thanks to Belt and Road Initiative
Dubai gives London and Hong Kong a serious run for their money in high-end property investments, offering luxury villas and apartments in classy new neighbourhoods like Mudon, XXII Carat, Emaar Beachfront and Town Square Dubai at a fraction of the price – and post-Covid-19, now is the time to invest
According to a report by Savills, China spent US$71.1 billion in the Middle East between 2014 and 2017 as part of the BRI, and has pledged to invest a further US$10.7 billion by 2022 in Oman’s Special Economic Zone at Duqm.
“The Gulf and North African regions have traditionally seen strong capital flows and investments from the US and Europe, however in the last few years, investment from private and public sector Chinese firms has increased substantially,” he said. “Chinese investments now play a significant role in developing and operating crucial infrastructure projects.”
The BRI is in many ways complementing the existing and proposed infrastructure projects in the region, Pillai added. “While mostly targeted at upgrading infrastructure, the project is in line with the vast transformation plans of GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries.”
By the end of last year, the UAE was the eighth most popular destination searched for on Chinese property portal juwai.com. Inquiries were up 43 per cent on the year before, but had quadrupled over a two-year basis, according to the company.
On LuxuryEstate.com, the emirate of Dubai is currently the 12th most searched destination by Chinese users following a 44 per cent increase in inquiries in 2020.
Aldo Rella, head of partnerships at LuxuryEstate.com, notes that the UAE government offers residency to foreigners who buy properties. “The duration of the visa is directly related to the property value,” he said. “Also, they have highly favourable tax conditions: there are no property taxes nor stamp duties, and this kind of benefit applies to all kinds of properties, even the most expensive.” Local authorities recently introduced a retirement visa, he added, and “that will probably contribute to boost the luxury property market in the next few years”.