Towering ambition

"The recent slow down of stock markets has served in reminding investors of the dangers of being overweight in equities and has renewed interest in the region's property sector which is realising excellent returns on investment," says Al Zarouni, adding that the region's continuous real estate boom stems from the fact that direct investment through real estate funds can be an ideal building block for enhancing and safeguarding the assets of any investor's portfolio.

"They are particularly beneficial to investors who are heavily concentrated in highly market-sensitive asset classes, and are therefore a lucrative way of diversifying a portfolio," he says.

In such a relatively short period of time, Burooj has managed to come a long way. The company was established in January 2006 with a working capital of US$136m and is the property investment arm of ADIB.

With over six years experience in the real estate sector, Burooj is involved in a number of high-profile direct investment projects in the region.

Last year, which was also the company's first year, Burooj scored a net operating profit of US$13.6m, according to Al Zarouni. "This year by Q3, we have closed US$20.4m. By the end of the year, we expect our results to be much better than last year," says Al Zarouni adding: "These are net operating profits, unlike the other property companies that announce figures in terms of the net profit but due to the revaluation of the property.

"There are no revaluation games here. The figures are purely net cash; net income."

In the meantime, however, the company is very optimistic about Abu Dhabi's property market which Al Zarouni says has just picked up and "has a lot of potential and opportunities" and will focus on investing in the budding emirate. Al Zarouni believes the competition within the UAE's property market has produced very positive results.

He also adds: "The regulations that have been put into the property market and the maturity have made it very competitive. With the regulations and legislation in place, the property market now is attracting institutions and big internationals firms that were reluctant to invest in the market earlier due to the lack of proper legislation in this sector." The release of recent property laws, Al Zarouni says, has given international organisations more confidence to come into the market.

"We will see in the coming years that big organisations and investment houses come into the country and put in big investments," he predicts.

Al Zarouni sees anything but a slowdown in the property market in the UAE. He believes the market poses great opportunities but there many elements that go into making a mature market. "You need a legal framework, you need a legislation that protects everybody's rights, you need financing systems and mortgage facilities to be put in place," he says, adding: "In the UAE, we have put lots of those elements in place and we are heading towards the right set-up for the property market."

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