July 18: Developing Stories
EAGLE’S LANDING
UAE property tycoon Mohamed Alabbar plans to invest up to $3 billion in Indonesia’s tourism sector. Alabbar’s Eagle Hills Properties, an Abu Dhabi-based private real estate investment and development company, inked the one-year deal with Indonesia’s Ministry of State-Owned Enterprises in the presence of Indonesian President Joko Widodo and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday. Alabbar, who also heads Dubai’s largest developer, Emaar, visited Nusantara, where the Indonesian capital is being relocated, in May where he expressed interest in investing. The deal to help develop and upgrade airport infrastructure and state-owned hotels comes as President Widodo has been wooing foreign investors before his final term ends this year.
PRICE CONSCIOUS
The UAE capital’s financial center is slashing fees to attract retailers and non-financial firms while raising licensing costs on the financiers flocking to the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM). The move comes as ADGM embarks on a massive expansion plan to include neighboring Reem Island into its jurisdiction. New registrations for non-financial firms have been halved to $5,000 while in the financial category, fees have increased to $20,000 from $15,000, ADGM said in a statement on Wednesday. The revised fee structure will come into effect on January 1, 2025. In May, ADGM reported assets under management tripled in the first quarter of 2024 compared to the previous year with 1,950 firms, including 291 financial services entities, now licensed there. Among the firms that have set up a base are Goldman Sachs, Blackstone, Apollo, Fifth Wall and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.