Nakheel to float $600mn trust

by This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it on Sunday, 04 November 2007

Discovery Gardens: likely to be part of portfolio used to create $600mn REIT.

Nakheel is to use a portfolio of Dubai properties to create a $600 million real estate investment trust (REIT) to be listed in Dubai and London or Singapore in the next three to six months.

"We are looking at the options of which properties to use but it's likely that International City and Discovery Gardens will be a proportion of those properties," an official spokesman told Arabian Business.

"It will be a dual listing so it will be listing here in Dubai and then we're just looking at the best option, whether that's Singapore or London, we don't know yet."

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REITs enjoy special tax considerations, offering high yields through direct investment in real estate via properties or mortgages.

Nakheel's REIT will be worth around $600 million, although this figure is "to be defined".

A more detailed decision is expected by early 2008. "We are just examining it now and we should have a decision within three to six months," the spokesman confirmed.

He clarified that the move is not associated with a complete listing of the company, which is linked to the launch of a $2.5 billion sukuk last year. "An IPO has always been an option as part of the sukuk," he said, adding, "that decision will not be made for another year."