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DIFC to become 'hotspot for property funds, REITs'

DUBAI, May 21, 2017

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) has the potential to be the destination of choice for real estate investment trusts (REITs) and property funds in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) and South Asia region, said a top official.

This follows recent successful launches by Emirates NBD REIT, which redomiciled from Jersey to DIFC, and Equitativa Limited, which launched the first Sharia-compliant REIT in the emirates because it is home to almost 200 wealth and asset managers.

Activity in this sector has the potential to shape the future of real estate, a critical component of the local, UAE and regional economy.

"Having successfully supported our clients to launch property funds and REITs, we are seeing more interest in them," remarked Arif Amiri, the chief executive officer of DIFC Authority.

He was speaking at an event, hosted by DIFC and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) in Dubai.

DIFC clients, have been the first in the region to benefit from enhanced regulation and laws which has enabled them to launch REITs.

A major financial hub in the $7.4-trillion MEA and South Asia region, DIFC’s proven and trusted legal and regulatory environment supports real estate as an asset class and its growth potential will play an integral role in the delivery of our 2024 strategy, he stated.

Experts at the event highlighted how the region was experiencing growth in property funds including REITs, qualified investor funds (QIFs) and exempt funds.

Amiri said DIFC clients were benefiting from regulations and laws which have enabled successful REIT launches.

Additionally, DIFC and Dubai Land Department (DLD) had recently signed a ground-breaking memorandum of understanding (MoU), a strategic move which will simplify the land owner registration process with DLD for DIFC-based companies, partnerships, foundations, REITs and real estate funds.

This landmark agreement is expected to encourage greater institutional investment into Dubai’s real estate sector, he stated.

"DIFC was currently working with a number of clients who were interested in issuing REITs, and many more on establishing QIFs and Exempt Funds, which have the potential to be converted to real estate trusts" he added.-TradeArabia News Service




Tags: DIFC | real estate | REIT |

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