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Billionaire US Realtor Looks East For Growth “To find true growth areas you have to look east, from Dubai to Shanghai - the future is there” - Thomas J. Barrack Jnr., Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Colony Capital The future is from Dubai to Shanghai says ‘best real estate investor in the world’ and keynote speaker at Cityscape Dubai . The man described by Fortune magazine as “the best real estate investor in the world” believes future growth in the global property industry lies in the east – “from Dubai to Shanghai.” Billionaire Thomas J. Barrack Jnr is one of a panel of more than 60 high level executive speakers at Cityscape Dubai - the world’s largest business-to-business property investment and development event - at the Dubai International Exhibition Centre from 16-18 October 2007. Barrack, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Colony Capital, an international real estate investment and management firm, will be giving a keynote address on the international real estate scene. Barrack, brought up in California, son of Lebanese immigrants, runs a multi-billion dollar portfolio of trophy assets across the globe, from the Raffles hotel chain in Asia to the Aga Khan's former resort in Sardinia. He has done deals with Saudi princes, Texas oilmen and even fellow property billionaire Donald Trump who praised his “amazing vision of the future." Barrack founded Colony Capital in 1991 buying up real estate loans from busted US savings and loans schemes. The company now has a multi-billion dollar portfolio of luxury hotels and apartment buildings in the US and Europe. A US$1 billion Raffles deal in Singapore included other Raffles brand hotels plus Swissôtels scattered throughout Europe. He then teamed up with Saudi billionaire businessman Prince Al Waleed bin Talal for a US$3.24 billion joint venture with Kingdom Holdings to acquire Fairmont hotels and merge them with Raffles - creating a global hospitality management company of 128 hotels in 23 countries. Barrack has been disillusioned by the quality of potential deals in the US real estate and property market telling Fortune magazine in 2005: "There's too much money chasing too few good deals, with too much debt and too few brains." On average, Barrack is travelling five days a week and spends most of his time in his personal jet. He is now scouring the Middle East, North Africa and Asia looking for new deals because, in his own words: “To find true growth areas you have to look east, from Dubai to Shanghai - the future is there.” One of his latest is a US$2 billion development of seven hotels, two golf courses and residential communities along 3.5 miles of beachfront on the Moroccan coast. An avid surfer and polo player, Barrack - with a personal net worth of $1 billion - splits his time between his Santa Barbara ranch in California and his US$3,000-a-night Costa Smeralda resort in Sardinia. .“As one of our keynote speakers, and one of the world’s brightest minds in property investment and development, Barrack will be outlining his philosophy on competing in today’s rapidly evolving global marketplace,” said Marie-Helene Couture, Cityscape Dubai Conference Manager “It is an unmissable opportunity to hear where he expects the best growth to happen.” Cityscape Dubai has attracted wide industry support with platinum sponsors . Emaar Properties, Tanmiyat Investment Group, Aldar Properties, Dar Al Arkan, Nakheel, and Qatari Diar; gold sponsors Almuttahed, Tameer Holdings and Saraya Holdings; and silver sponsor Aqaba Development Corporation. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum heads UAE delegation on official tour of Vietnam H.E. Sheikha Lubna highlights importance of joint projects between the two countries
September 4, 2007 H.E. Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, the UAE Minister of Economy, has called for greater cooperation and strengthening of bilateral ties between Vietnam and UAE, during her official visit to the Southeast Asian country today (Tuesday, September 4, 2007). Addressing a gathering of Vietnamese businessmen hosted by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, H.E. Sheikha Lubna said, “The UAE is keen to strengthen its economic ties with Vietnam, and a major step in this direction would be to seek mutual investment opportunities, increase trade exchange and establish joint projects leveraging the competitive advantages of both countries.” “The UAE and Vietnam had signed an agreement in 1999 aimed at greater economic and technological cooperation, and we wish to take this relationship to another level by working closely in several key areas such as healthcare, infrastructure, trade, investment and tourism, to bring maximum benefits to the people of both countries,” she added.The UAE Ministry of Economy figures show that in 2006, the value of trade between UAE and Vietnam was more than USD 165 million, representing a 46 per cent growth over the previous four years. “We would like to see a significant increase in the flow of UAE products to Vietnam,” said H.E. Sheikha Lubna. “Products manufactured in the UAE are comparable to those manufactured in any of the developed nations, both in terms of quality and price, and we are focused on promoting products made in the UAE to regional and international markets.” H.E. Sheikha Lubna also spoke at length about the various strategic and economic advantages that the UAE offers to investors from other countries. She emphasised on aspects such as the investor-friendly laws, favourable geographical location, the tax-free environment, high quality of infrastructure facilities, availability of skilled labour, the political stability and a highly supportive government. The UAE ranks number one among Gulf countries and the Middle East in attracting foreign direct investments, according to the report published by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). In 2006, the UAE attracted about 5.8 million tourists and drew 60 per cent of the foreign investments that entered the GCC countries. “We are confident that the Vietnamese business community
will recognise the full potential of the UAE and make the most
of the opportunities that the country has to offer in various
sectors such as construction, food manufacturing, oil and gas,
IT, marine industry, healthcare, mining, hospitality and tourism.
This visit, I believe, will mark the beginning of a new chapter
in UAE-Vietnam relations,” concluded H.E. Sheikha Lubna.
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