LONDON: A splurge on marketing spending failed to deliver a bottom line boost to Damac Properties — the developer behind behind the only Trump-branded golf course in the Middle East.
The Dubai-based developer is well known for its marketing gimmicks such as including speed boats and sports cars with the homes it sells and often has a large presence of salespeople at events like the annual Cityscape shows in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.
But the developer’s latest marketing drive comes amid a subdued property market in the emirate where it faces stiff competition from rivals developing thousands of new units.
On Wednesday Damac reported its third quarterly decline in profits on the trot, reflecting the headwinds facing the wider property market.
Third-quarter profit fell 20 percent to 719.34 million dirhams ($195.86 million) from a year earlier even as the developer ramped up marketing expenses by a third to 96.45 million
dirhams.
Despite the decline, Damac Chairman Hussain Sajwani gave an upbeat assessment of the market.
“Dubai’s property market has been steadily solidifying in 2017, with increasing sales transactions and robust fundamentals, and our medium to long term outlook remains positive,” he said.
“Dubai’s property sector is feeling the positive effects of the emirate’s appeal and growing sophistication on the world stage. This is evident from the growing real estate sales transactions at Dubai Land Department and we are confident of the growth prospects for the sector going forward.”
But that view does not chime with many brokers concerned about the potential over-supply of new homes hitting the
market.
Property broker JLL estimates that as many as 80,0000 units could be delivered by the end of 2019 with developers including Nakheel and Deyaar, which also reported earnings yesterday, announcing new projects worth billions of dollars in recent months.
“This renewed sentiment does however raise the prospect of a potential over supply on the back of sales achieved through more attractive payment terms,” said Craig Plumb, the regional head of research at JLL.
US President Donald Trump’s eldest sons Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump visited Dubai in February for the opening of the Trump International Gulf Club.
The developer announced a tie-up with the Roberto Cavalli Group in the third quarter for a villa development called Just Cavalli.
The developer also handed over more than 850 units across its international developments which include its two-tower Esclusiva project in Saudi Arabia and its three-tower development project in Jordan.
Damac advert spend surges but profits fall
Damac advert spend surges but profits fall
Kuwait to boost Islamic finance with sukuk regulation
- The move supports sustainable financing and is part of Kuwait’s efforts to diversify its oil-dependent economy
RIYADH: Kuwait is planning to introduce legislation to regulate the issuance of sukuk, or Islamic bonds, both domestically and internationally, as part of efforts to support more sustainable financing for the oil-rich Gulf nation, Prime Minister Sheikh Ahmad Abdullah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah said on Wednesday.
Speaking at the World Governments Summit in Dubai, Al-Sabah highlighted that Kuwait is exploring a variety of debt instruments to diversify its economy. The country has been implementing fiscal reforms aimed at stimulating growth and controlling its budget deficit amid persistently low oil prices. Hydrocarbons continue to dominate Kuwait’s revenue stream, accounting for nearly 90 percent of government income in 2024.
The Gulf Cooperation Council’s debt capital market is projected to exceed $1.25 trillion by 2026, driven by project funding and government initiatives, representing a 13.6 percent expansion, according to Fitch Ratings.
The region is expected to remain one of the largest sources of US dollar-denominated debt and sukuk issuance among emerging markets. Fitch also noted that cross-sector economic diversification, refinancing needs, and deficit funding are key factors behind this growth.
“We are about to approve the first legislation regulating issuance of government sukuk locally and internationally, in accordance with Islamic laws,” Al-Sabah said.
“This enables us to deal with financial challenges flexibly and responsibly, and to plan for medium and long-term finances.”
Kuwait returned to global debt markets last year with strong results, raising $11.25 billion through a three-part bond sale — the country’s first US dollar issuance since 2017 — drawing substantial investor demand. In March, a new public debt law raised the borrowing ceiling to 30 billion dinars ($98 billion) from 10 billion dinars, enabling longer-term borrowing.
The Gulf’s debt capital markets, which totaled $1.1 trillion at the end of the third quarter of 2025, have evolved from primarily sovereign funding tools into increasingly sophisticated instruments serving governments, banks, and corporates alike. As diversification efforts accelerate and refinancing cycles intensify, regional issuers have become regular participants in global debt markets, reinforcing the GCC’s role in emerging-market capital flows.
In 2025, GCC countries accounted for 35 percent of all emerging-market US dollar debt issuance, excluding China, with growth in US dollar sukuk issuance notably outpacing conventional bonds. The region’s total outstanding debt capital markets grew more than 14 percent year on year, reaching $1.1 trillion.
