Emerging markets expert and venture capitalist Dr. Mark Mobius said that he was impressed by Dubai’s “amazingly liquid” real estate market in an exclusive interview with Arabian Business.
Mobius, who recently moved to Dubai, conveyed his belief that the emirate offers a unique combination of factors that make it an attractive investment destination. The city’s tax benefits, robust infrastructure, safety, liquid property market and the overall law and order situation, with the added advantage of reliable banks and a plethora of investment opportunities contribute to its appeal among under 40s.
“There are good opportunities to buy apartments. The market is amazingly liquid,” he said.
“You can buy a reasonably priced property here with pretty good infrastructure.”
Dubai’s real estate market saw an incredible first quarter this year, registering more than $24 billion worth of transactions. This new peak posted a whopping 60 percent jump from its corresponding period last year, according to an April 2023 report from real estate investment firm Foreman Fiefdom.
Mobius, who is synonymous with emerging and frontier markets investing with a reputation as one of the most successful and influential money managers over the past 30 years, added that there was greater potential to create an even more liquid market with more investment choices.
“There’s probably good opportunities for these big family-owned companies to be split up. Once you split them up, you can make them into quite a few companies.”
Being able to invest in stocks for such companies would encourage more investment and contribute to greater economic growth, he explained.
Dubai’s economy has experienced tremendous growth and diversification over the years, transitioning to a global business and trade hub. The city’s diversification strategy focused on the tourism, real estate, finance, logistics, and technology sectors to fuel its economic expansion, and as a result, has transformed itself into one of the world’s most sought-after destinations for business, particularly startups.
When asked about encouraging others to move to Dubai and invest, Mobius wholeheartedly supported the idea.
The multi-award winning expert highlighted the presence of reputable banks, both local and foreign, that offer reliable and secure financial services. He added that Dubai’s excellent communication networks enable seamless global business transactions, further enhancing its appeal as a safe place to keep investments.
“This is a great place to start a business, because you don’t have a tax problem. It’s fairly easy to open an office here and the government seems quite open to new enterprises,” he said.
“The important thing is there are good banks here and they’re pretty strict. You have got a lot of foreign banks here which adds another dimension of safety and the local banks are really good, great service.”
Bitcoin enables a “legitimate use of money transfer,” and Dubai, being a hotbed for crypto enthusiasts, “should not be ashamed of enabling people to transfer money,” Mobius said.
“The Americans have become much too strict in this regard.”
However, acknowledging that Bitcoin can be used for both the legitimate and illicit transfer of funds, Mobius noted that the US’ weaponisation of the dollar against Russia was a “big mistake,” which has contributed to creating a “less transparent money system globally.”
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