DUBAI: Dubai construction and hospitality giant Emaar Properties on Sunday reported a rise in interim profit results, posting higher sales despite an economic downturn that has depressed the property industry.
The company, which owns the world’s tallest tower, Burj Khalifa, said it posted $362 million in net profit in the third quarter, up 20 percent from $302.4 million in the same period last year.
Dubai is defined by its beachfront skyscrapers and man-made islands, but it is stuck in a five-year property downturn with analysts saying there will be no relief in the near term.
The government in 2018 introduced a raft of rescue measures including easy visa terms for expatriate buyers and permanent residency permits for big investors. And in September, a top-level committee was established to rebalance the market.
Emaar, the largest property firm in the Middle East, reported that over the first nine months of the year net profits rose just 2.3 percent to $1.2 billion, from $1.18 billion in the corresponding period of 2018.
Sales in the first three quarters of 2019 hit $3.44 billion, a surge of 25 percent on the same period last year.
The growth was attributed to the “resilient performance of the property, malls and hospitality business,” the company said in a statement posted on the Dubai Financial Market website.
Since 2002, Emaar has delivered some 59,000 residential units in Dubai and other global markets.
Besides real estate, Emaar has a number of malls, including Dubai Mall, the world’s most visited shopping center, and several hotels.
Dubai property giant Emaar reports 20% bump in profits
Dubai property giant Emaar reports 20% bump in profits
- Emaar reported that over the first nine months of the year net profits rose just 2.3 percent to $1.2 billion
Lebanese social entrepreneur Omar Itani recognized by Schwab Foundation
- FabricAID co-founder among 21 global recipients recognized for social innovation
DAVOS: Lebanon’s Omar Itani is one of 21 recipients of the Social Entrepreneurs and Innovators of the Year Award by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship.
Itani is the co-founder of social enterprise FabricAID, which aims to “eradicate symptoms of poverty” by collecting and sanitizing secondhand clothing before placing items in stores in “extremely marginalized areas,” he told Arab News on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
With prices ranging from $0.25 to $4, the goal is for people to have a “dignified shopping experience” at affordable prices, he added.
FabricAID operates a network of clothing collection bins across key locations in Lebanon and Jordan, allowing people to donate pre-loved items. The garments are cleaned and sorted before being sold through the organization’s stores, while items that cannot be resold due to damage or heavy wear are repurposed for other uses, including corporate merchandise.
Since its launch, FabricAID has sold more than 1 million items, reached 200,000 beneficiaries and is preparing to expand into the Egyptian market.
Amid uncertainty in the Middle East, Itani advised young entrepreneurs to reframe challenges as opportunities.
“In Lebanon and the Arab world, we complain a lot,” he said. Understandably so, as “there are a lot of issues” in the region, resulting in people feeling frustrated and wanting to move away. But, he added, “a good portion of the challenges” facing the Middle East are “great economic and commercial opportunities.”
Over the past year, social innovators raised a combined $970 million in funding and secured a further $89 million in non-cash contributions, according to the Schwab Foundation’s recent report, “Built to Last: Social Innovation in Transition.”
This is particularly significant in an environment of geopolitical uncertainty and at a time when 82 percent report being affected by shrinking resources, triggering delays in program rollout (70 percent) and disruptions to scaling plans (72 percent).
Francois Bonnici, director of the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship and a member of the World Economic Forum’s Executive Committee, said: “The next decade must move the models of social innovation decisively from the margins to the mainstream, transforming not only markets but mindsets.”
Award recipients take part in a structured three-year engagement with the Schwab Foundation, after which they join its global network as lifelong members. The program connects social entrepreneurs with international peers, collaborative initiatives, and capacity-building support aimed at strengthening and scaling their work.
