Dubai: A Canadian company has announced that it is setting aside billions of funds to take over distressed assets and real estate projects in the UAE, including the delayed Dubai Pearl development.
Canada Business Holdings (CBH), a venture capital and private equity firm, said it has raised its investment ceiling up to $6 billion, to finance the completion of properties in Dubai.
“CBH intends to deploy such funds in acquiring distressed assets and complete their construction. The company plans to invest, develop, own, manage and overrate the assets for the next thirty years,” the company said in a statement sent to Gulf News on Sunday.
Dubai's real estate market is going through a period of correction, with real estate prices softening in recent months.
The Canadian company, however, said it still believes that Dubai remains a "profitable market". CBH has a pipeline of more than $17 billion worth of projects and is set to open a regional office in the emirate before the end of the year, to oversee its business in the Middle East.
It has recently expressed interest in taking over the Dubai Pearl, a huge development overlooking The Palm Jumeirah, which as been delayed since its launch in 2003.
According to the company, it had “strategically aligned its plans” with a leading construction and engineering firm for the mega project.
Covering a built-up area of approximately 20 million square feet, Dubai Pearl was originally planned to be the largest single building in the world - an "integrated city" that can accommodate 9,000 residents and 12,000 employees. It consists of four towers connected together at the base.
“Dubai is a focal market for our company’s investments. We remain confident that Dubai continues to deliver its promises and remains a profitable market even in times of uncertainty,” said Moses Solemon, chairman and CEO of CBH.
“Our goal is to provide protected and more secure investments with higher returns for our shareholders and partners.”
