La Hoya Bay investors slam Khoie Group reps

Over 50 investors and representatives crowded into the Khoie Group headquarters in Al Quoz on Friday to hear company representatives explain their claim to restart construction on the La Hoya Bay site in Ras Al Khaimah within 90 days.

Attendeees at the meeting heard brief statements from new administrative representative Rick Sailors and effective chief financial officer Abdul Karim Mohammed before the floor was thrown open for some angry questioning.

The new CFO claimed that “everything [in terms of financing for the project] would be achieved.”

“If I was not sure [about the financing], I would not be here,” Mohammed explained.

But investors poured scorn on the possibility of winning financing for what they see as a woefully mismanaged project – especially in the current climate.

One investor also called for Khoie Group to release the details of the planned project manager and main contractor for La Hoya Bay. Neither official was able to clarify these details.

An informal show of hands at the meeting revealed that investors overwhelmingly intended to accept the Khoie Group’s offer of a refund immediately, although one investor told Arabian Business that he had no choice to accept the 90-day suggestion, while at the same time pursuing his right to legal action.

We have had our hopes raised and dashed for over a year now, and therefore I believe many of us will request a refund, but ensure our contractual legal rights remain firmly in place,” Ashley Merry, a British investor in La Hoya Bay, told Arabian Business.

Another meeting with investors and RAK government officals will be held on 17 March in Ras Al Khaimah.

“It is obviously prudent to keep all our options open until we have evidence that the recent promises made by Khoie Properties have real substance. Actions speak far louder than words after all.”

Set on Al Marjan Island, the La Hoya Bay project was suspended following Khoie’s arrest in January last year.

The CEO, who had bought six plots of land worth AED302m ($82.2m) from Ras Al Khaimah Investment Authority (Rakia), is currently serving a three-year jail term for bouncing an AED57.5m ($15.6m) cheque written to the state-backed agency.

In October last year a court appointed Rakeen, the development arm of Rakia, as judicial custodian of the project in a bid to allow work to continue.