Mubadala eyes global real estate expansion
Abu Dhabi-based firm to target key cities in the US, Europe and Asia to boost its portfolio
Mubadala Real Estate plans to expand its real estate portfolio internationally by acquiring stakes in commercial properties through joint ventures, a top executive of the firm said yesterday.
The firm also plans to monetise some of its UAE assets by setting up a real estate investment trust (Reit) in 2019.
“We have a couple of investments in the US in the office building, in retail portfolio in Germany and residential investments in the UK currently. Our strategy is to expand further and look at key cities in Europe, Asia and US for further investments,” said Ali Eid Al Muhairi, executive director of Mubadala Real Estate and Infrastructure, without disclosing the total investment.
He said they are targeting cities like New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Paris, Berlin, Munich, Singapore and Shanghai for further acquisitions to boost their portfolio.
“We have a clear strategy to diversify our portfolio and we need to think real estate as a global platform. Most of our investments are in then UAE, and we want to balance our UAE investments with international investments.”
In the UAE, the firm has four commercial towers and two hotels in Al Maryah Island including Rosewood Abu Dhabi and Four Seasons and residential towers in Zayed Sports City.
Speaking about the real estate market in the UAE, he said there has been a softening of the market in 2017 with rents falling by almost 10 per cent due to oversupply.
“In 2018, there will still be some softening, [but] not necessarily as hard as in 2017 and there will be slight stabilisation of the rates. We expect recovery in 2019.”