UK picks Opportunity district to set up pavilion at Expo 2020
Britain was one of the first countries to support Dubai’s bid for Expo — Shaikh Ahmad
UK Secretary of State for International Trade Dr Liam Fox has backed the Opportunity district as the location for the UK Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.
About 5,000 UK businesses operate in the UAE and more than 100,000 British nationals live in the country, Expo 2020 Dubai said in an emailed statement yesterday. The UAE is the UK’s 12th largest trading partner, reaching Dh63 billion in bilateral trade in 2015. The UAE-UK Business Council has agreed an ambitious target of £25 billion (Dh122 billion) of bilateral trade by 2020.
“Britain was one of the countries that first supported the efforts location near Dubai Parks and Resorts.
Real estate expansion
Meanwhile, the $4.5 billion Malabar Group, will simultaneously expand on its real estate development interests, but in India. Currently, gold and jewellery make up well over 85 per cent of the group turnover.
But the strategy is to push real estate’s contribution to be about 30 per cent in the medium term. This will be built up through upscale residential communities, principally in the southern Indian state of Kerala.
“If we are able to recreate a similar sort of lifestyle and experience in India that Dubai’s prime freehold communities have done, I think we can be quite successful,” said Ahmad. “There are a lot of white-collar Indian professionals in the Gulf and even elsewhere who want of the UAE for the honour of hosting Expo 2020 Dubai. We are grateful for their continuous backing that was stressed today by Dr Liam Fox. We look forward to more connection with the British institutions and companies that will join us in the journey to 2020 and beyond,” said Shaikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, President of Dubai Civil Aviation and Chairman and CEO of Emirates airline and Group, in his capacity as Chairman of the Expo 2020 Dubai Higher Committee.
Design and building
British architects and construction firms, including Anglo-Emirati joint venture Al-Futtaim Carillion and architectural company Foster + Partners, are involved in the design and building of some of the pavilions and districts on the Expo site.
Following the progress its plans for a briefing on of the Expo and legacy development to buy property back home. If we create the communitythemed concepts they are used to in UAE, we can win their business.
“We do not want to be exposed to just the jewellery business for future growth. The economy’s going through difficulties, through District 2020, announced at Cityscape last month, Fox said, “We are excited about the incredible opportunities that Expo 2020 Dubai will open, and already is opening, for the outward-looking ‘Global Britain’ we are.
“Britain aims to be a leading advocate for free trade across the world and we look forward to developing this goal by connecting with nations, multilateral organisations and corporations in one of the most exciting locations on earth and the crossroads of East and West.”
Expo, which will open on October 20, 2020, is projected to attract 25 million visits, with 70 per cent expected to come from outside the UAE — the largest proportion of international visitors in the 166-year history of World Expos. More than 200 countries, companies, NGOs and educational institutions are also expected to participate. demonetisation had shaved off growth for jewellery sales, and hit the industry hard.
“Real estate development and sales, whatever be the state of the market now, can offer us growth opportunities in the mid to longer term.”
Apart from residential communities, it is also building malls in three of the key cities in Kerala. Next month, it will launch residential projects in Karnataka, including in the capital Bengaluru.
The group will also be open to joint ventures with those holding significant land bank, whereby Malabar will handle the development and selling while the partner provides the land.
Currently, property development contributes Rs10 billion to the turnover. The target is to reach Rs30 billion by end of the decade.