His Highness Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum opens twelwth edition oc Cityscape Global 08.10.2013: Mid East’s largest real estate event welcomes packed agenda

Mid East’s largest real estate event welcomes packed agenda of exhibitor announcements, awards ceremony, and three dedicated industry conferences



photo caption: His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai opened Cityscape Global today, taking place at the Dubai World Trade Centre until 10 October.


His Highness Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai has today officially inaugurated the twelfth edition of Cityscape Global, the Middle East’s largest and most influential international real estate event.


Taking place until 10 October at the Dubai World Trade Centre, Cityscape Global is co-located with three dedicated and expert-led conferences, and an extravagant gala dinner awards ceremony at the world’s tallest hotel.


The three-day event will be the largest it has been in four years as the Dubai property market stages a strong comeback with the sector witnessing widespread growth amidst an economic recovery.


Wouter Molman, Exhibition Director of Cityscape Global said: “Cityscape Global has grown substantially for the second year in a row, having sold out exhibition space six weeks ahead of the opening day.  This mirrors the Dubai property market sentiment which has started to gain momentum since early 2012.  The 2013 edition has attracted 223 regional and international exhibitors, covering six exhibition halls and 25,000 square metres of space.”


According to figures from the eighth Jones Lang LaSalle Real Estate Investor Sentiment Survey for the Middle East and North Africa, the Dubai real estate sector has more potential investors than sellers, with significant amounts of money continuing to flow into the domestic market.


“Most of the new project announcements in Dubai are as ambitious as ever but we are seeing a more mature approach which will benefit the long term credibility of the real estate sector amongst investors,” said Alan Robertson, CEO of Jones Lang LaSalle in the Middle East and North Africa, who will be hosting a series of events throughout Cityscape Global, including the unveiling of three major reports.


Reinforcing the positive sentiment of the local market, all major UAE developers have a commanding presence at Cityscape Global this year, including Foundation Sponsors Emaar Properties, Nakheel and Dubai Properties Group, along with Strategic Sponsor Barwa, Silver Sponsor Pacific Ventures and Anantara Residences, all taking centre stage to showcase their latest developments to potential regional and international investors.


Other UAE developers include DAMAC, Deyaar Development, Diamond Developers, Flash Properties, Meydan Group, Omniyat, Tanmiyat and Tharaa Holding.


Niall McLoughlin, Senior Vice President, DAMAC Properties, said: “Cityscape Global takes place a month before the announcement of the World Expo 2020 and all eyes will be on the Dubai property market – especially serviced living opportunities as the Emirate targets 20 million visitors by 2020.


“We are looking forward to three days of intense business activity as we highlight many of our new offerings including the luxury serviced villas available at AKOYA by DAMAC and further exciting investment opportunities as part of our collaboration with Paramount Hotels and Resorts in both Dubai and Saudi Arabia.”


Saeed Al Qatami, CEO, Deyaar Developments, said: “Deyaar Developments has recently registered a half yearly gross profit of AED140.2 million compared to AED108.7 million in 2012. These figures reflect renewed investor confidence and positive market sentiment and we plan to continue to build on this profitability through the sale of completed projects at Cityscape Global to achieve our targets for the rest of the year.”


While all the key local developers will be out in force over the next three days, Cityscape Global continues to attract a strong international contingent of exhibitors, underlined by eight country pavilions this year. The Turkish pavilion will once again be the largest in 2013, featuring more than 30 real estate companies and covering more than 1,500sqm of exhibition space.


Commenting on the growth in exhibition space this year, Molman said: “Cityscape Global has grown over 50 per cent in sold exhibition space with international exhibitors representing roughly half of the total number. However, with Dubai developers on average taking larger stand sizes, they still represent approximately 65 per cent of the total exhibition space.


“Total participant numbers last year were just over 25,000 and we expect this number to see a healthy double digit increase this year based on the improved market sentiment and our current pre-registration figures.”


The 2013 edition of Cityscape Global will run alongside three dedicated industry conference programmes, the Global Real Estate Summit, Future Cities and the MENA Mortgage and Affordable Housing Congress.  The event also features the Cityscape Awards for Emerging Markets on 9 October, where pioneers at the forefront of the emerging real estate market will be celebrated at a glittering ceremony at the prestigious JW Marriot Marquis Hotel Dubai. 


Now in its twelfth year, Cityscape Global is organised by Informa Exhibitions and supported by Dubai Land Department.  The exhibition is open daily from 10:00am – 7:00pm, located in halls three to eight at the Dubai World Trade Centre.


- Lindsay Johnston, Total Communications Dubai - also photo