DUBAI: Emaar Properties, the builder of the world’s tallest tower, plans to offer up to 30 percent of its UAE real estate development business in what would be the first listing on the Dubai exchange in two and a half years.
The developer, whose interests span hotels, entertainment and shopping mall operations, said the decision to list in Dubai, would maximize value for shareholders.
The company floated Emaar Malls in 2014, valuing the business at 37.7 billion dirhams ($10.27 billion).
“As Emaar’s other businesses have grown and expanded, we wanted to ensure that investors who value the UAE Real Estate Development business the most, the foundation of Emaar’s success, can do so directly,” Mohamed Alabbar, Emaar’s chairman, said in a statement published on the Dubai bourse’s website.
“This will ensure that the value of this business is properly recognized.”
If successful, the UAE real estate development business will be the DFM’s first new listing in two and a half years. The last IPO on the DFM was by DXB Entertainments, which began trading in December 2014.
The decision to hive off the unit came after an internal review of Emaar’s asset values, Emaar said.
Subject to market conditions, funds raised through the sale of equity would be distributed to shareholders of Emaar Properties, it added.
“What he is trying to do is realize the future value of this company now,” said Mohammed Ali Yasin, CEO of Abu Dhabi’s NBAD Securities.
“What he is saying is that Emaar in parts is worth more than the sum of those parts in one share,” he added.
Alabbar had promised shareholders “special dividends” in 2017 at Emaar’s annual general meeting in April, Yasin said.
The company said in April that its hospitality unit will be listed at an appropriate time depending on business requirements and market conditions.
Emaar plans IPO for real estate development business in Dubai
Emaar plans IPO for real estate development business in Dubai
Multilateralism strained, but global cooperation adapting: WEF report
DUBAI: Overall levels of international cooperation have held steady in recent years, with smaller and more innovative partnerships emerging, often at regional and cross-regional levels, according to a World Economic Forum report.
The third edition of the Global Cooperation Barometer was launched on Thursday, ahead of the WEF’s annual meeting in Davos from Jan. 19 to 23.
“The takeaway of the Global Cooperation Barometer is that while multilateralism is under real strain, cooperation is not ending, it is adapting,” Ariel Kastner, head of geopolitical agenda and communications at WEF, told Arab News.
Developed alongside McKinsey & Company, the report uses 41 metrics to track global cooperation in five areas: Trade and capital; innovation and technology; climate and natural capital; health and wellness; and peace and security.
The pace of cooperation differs across sectors, with peace and security seeing the largest decline. Cooperation weakened across every tracked metric as conflicts intensified, military spending rose and multilateral mechanisms struggled to contain crises.
By contrast, climate and nature, alongside innovation and technology, recorded the strongest increases.
Rising finance flows and global supply chains supported record deployment of clean technologies, even as progress remained insufficient to meet global targets.
Despite tighter controls, cross-border data flows, IT services and digital connectivity continued to expand, underscoring the resilience of technology cooperation amid increasing restrictions.
The report found that collaboration in critical technologies is increasingly being channeled through smaller, aligned groupings rather than broad multilateral frameworks.
This reflects a broader shift, Kastner said, highlighting the trend toward “pragmatic forms of collaboration — at the regional level or among smaller groups of countries — that advance both shared priorities and national interests.”
“In the Gulf, for example, partnerships and investments with Asia, Europe and Africa in areas such as energy, technology and infrastructure, illustrate how focused collaboration can deliver results despite broader, global headwinds,” he said.
Meanwhile, health and wellness and trade and capital remained flat.
Health outcomes have so far held up following the pandemic, but sharp declines in development assistance are placing growing strain on lower- and middle-income countries.
In trade, cooperation remained above pre-pandemic levels, with goods volumes continuing to grow, albeit at a slower pace than the global economy, while services and selected capital flows showed stronger momentum.
The report also highlights the growing role of smaller, trade-dependent economies in sustaining global cooperation through initiatives such as the Future of Investment and Trade Partnership, launched in September 2025 by the UAE, New Zealand, Singapore and Switzerland.
Looking ahead, maintaining open channels of communication will be critical, Kastner said.
“Crucially, the building block of cooperation in today’s more uncertain era is dialogue — parties can only identify areas of common ground by speaking with one another.”
