Paris Hilton eyes UAE retail, hotel opportunities

Millionaire heiress Paris Hilton on Wednesday night said she wanted to expand her business empire in the UAE - and admitted she would look at properties in Dubai.

Hilton is to star in a new series of her hit reality television show 'My New BBF', which is being filmed in Dubai over the coming weeks and sees the celebrity socialite search for a new best friend forever (BFF).

Appearing in front of a packed room containing mostly media at the InterContinental Hotel in Festival City, Dubai, the American party princess, famed for her glamorous and high-flying lifestyle, overcame an initial embarrassment when her microphone failed to work and fielded a series of questions from the media.

Wearing an elaborate green dress and bedecked in a glittering array of jewels, the 28-year-old outlined plans to expand her fashion brand in the UAE while possibly opening a hotel as well as investing in property.

Questions were supposed to be strictly about her new television show but Hilton overruled a member of her entourage - to rapturous applause from the audience - and insisted on answering, declaring: “I am a businesswoman as well.”

She said: “We do have a couple of handbags and some sunglasses coming out. I know they [shops in the UAE] carry my fragrance here and my clothes are coming out soon.”

“I would love to open a hotel in Dubai. It would be incredible to have a Paris hotel and a nightclub. Maybe I'll be checking out some properties while I'm here as well,” she added.

A question early on about footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, who is poised to move from Manchester United to Real Madrid for a record transfer fee of (£80m) $131m, was turned down by the press conference organisers.

Rumours of a possible romance between the Portuguese winger and Hilton have been brewing, after the two were spotted at a Los Angeles nightclub last week.

Hilton's own fashion label - Paris Hilton - sells mainly handbags and other accessories. She has also released her 'heiress' brand of women's perfume.

Her family founded the Hilton hotel group.

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