Abu Dhabi is fast emerging as the prime financial, trading, logistics and business hub in the region and might well be giving neighbouring Dubai a worthy challenge in the years ahead, said a report.

While many thought low oil prices would dent the emirate’s growth prospects, nothing concrete has come to the surface to substantiate the misplaced predictions, stated UAE real estate portal Bayut.

The credit for the economy’s robustness goes to the UAE rulers, who have carefully pursued a path of diversifying their sources of revenue, it added.

Bayut said the UAE capital has one of the most efficient and effective ports in the world, let alone the region, making the city an ideal stopover for freight traffic moving between the eastern and western parts of the world.

It is one of the region’s most dynamic trade and re-export destination, besides being an important industrial hub for the entire nation, it added.

The real estate portal said the government had put in place measures that make Abu Dhabi a great financial services hub, and facilities like the Abu Dhabi Global Market are already attracting world-class players like Macquarie Capital and Aberdeen Asset Management, making the sector all the more valuable.

All this economic commotion has naturally attracted top human talent from across the world to this vibrant city, giving way to a constantly rising need for accommodating a rising population, it stated.

This influx of workers and professionals has boosted the emirate’s realty sector, making it a lucrative investment destination that provides great returns to investors, the report said.

According to Bayut, the apartment rental yields in Abu Dhabi outshine many global cities, including Dubai, with returns going as high as 9.2 per cent in certain bed categories.

The portal said average apartment rent yield in the emirate remained 6.75 per cent in February 2016, much more attractive than Dubai, where average apartment yields were 5.5 per cent. However, it must be noted that these yields are still higher than established global cities like London and Hong Kong, where returns are four per cent at best, according to Global Property Guide.

Bayut said average apartment sale prices grew by 5.3 per cent month-on-month (m-o-m) in February, with studio apartments scoring high on both yields (9.2 per cent) as well as sale price growth (5.3 per cent).

Yields for one-bed and two-bed apartment categories were recorded at 7.7 per cent and 6.9 per cent, while sale prices for the two categories returned increases of 1.9 per cent and 2.8 per cent, it stated.-TradeArabia News Service