Emaar : Global Real Estate Giant

Emaar Properties, based in the United Arab Emirates, is a Public Joint Stock Company (PJSC) listed on the Dubai Financial Market. Established in 1997 with an initial paid-up capital of AED 1 billion, Emaar Properties is currently the Persian Gulf region's largest land and real estate developer. With over 60 companies, Emaar's activities include property investment and development, property management services, education, healthcare, retail and hospitality sectors, as well as investing in financial service providers. In 2007 the government of Dubai through the Investment Corporation of Dubai took a 32% equity stake in Emaar by exchanging land for 28 billion AED worth of stock.

Type: Real Estate
Industry: Holding companyFounded: 1997
Headquarters: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
Revenue: $17.5 billion

With more than 14,000 homes, Emaar has several major real estate projects under various stages of development in Dubai. The company also owns and manages the Gold and Diamond Park.

Emaar started construction on its most ambitious project to date on 1998, the AED 730 billion (US$20 billion) Burj Khalifa Downtown development, which comprises the Burj Khalifa - the tallest tower in the world when completed in 2009, the Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa Business Hub, The Lofts, The Old Town, The Old Town Island, Burj Khalifa Boulevard, The Residences, Burj Views, man-made lakes, landscaped parks and gardens.
Located in the Burj Khalifa, Armani Hotel and Residences Dubai includes 160 guest rooms and suites, restaurants and a spa covering more than 40,000 m². Above the hotel are 144 luxury residential apartments.

Burj Khalifa Downtown

The company has joint ventures and projects across the region covering Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, France, India, Indonesia, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey.
International projects include: Cairo Heights in Egypt; Boulder Hills, a leisure and residential community in Hyderabad, India; multiple resort projects in Morocco, including Amelkis II & III and Bahia Bay, residential golfing communities; Eighth Gate project in Damascus, the city’s first master planned community; and Lakeside in Istanbul.In Saudi Arabia, Emaar is embarking on the creation of the AED 98 billion (US$26.6 billion) King Abdullah Economic City, a mixed use development covering 55 million square metres of greenfield land with a 35 km shoreline close to the port city of Jeddah.

Emaar Properties announced plans to expand the retail sector with investments of over AED 15 billion (US$4 billion) to develop approximately 150 malls in the larger emerging markets of the Middle East, North Africa (MENA) and the Indian subcontinent.

Mohamed Ali Alabbar

Emaar’s Chairman, Mohamed Ali Alabbar, the Director General of the Dubai Department of Economic Development and Chairman, Emaar Properties, is a member of the Dubai Executive Council, the supreme government body with the mandate to synergize all growth initiatives in Dubai. Mohamed Ali Alabbar with John Laing

Emaar Properties acquired John Laing Homes, the second largest privately held homebuilder in the U.S., creating one of the world’s largest real estate developers in residential homebuilding.
On February 22, 2009 Emaar issued the following statement about John Laing Homes filing for bankruptcy:
John Laing Homes, one of the largest privately held homebuilders in the United States, has announced that it, along with certain of its affiliates, have elected to file Chapter 11 petitions in the US Court for the District of Delaware. John Laing Homes anticipates that the Chapter 11 process will allow it to significantly reduce debt from its balance sheet while facilitating a strategic reorganization of the company, which will place it in the strongest possible position to sustain its momentum despite extremely challenging market conditions.