Business

Dubai property visa goes by original purchase price, not currently assessed value

I purchased a property in Dubai for Dh798,000 back in 2002. The property is now worth more than Dh1.8 million. Does this qualify me for the emirate's Dh1 million threshold for a property ownership visa?

Keren Bobker

May 13, 2017

I own outright a property in Dubai Marina. I purchased the property for Dh798,000 back in 2002. The property is now worth more than Dh1.8 million. The old policy, for securing a property-linked visa, was that the property had to have been purchased for a minimum of Dh1m. What is the current policy as to property value to be eligible for this visa? AB, Dubai

The rules regarding obtaining a property related visa have not changed. The official requirement is that the property value must be shown as Dh1m or more on the paperwork lodged with the Land Department. This is based on the purchase price as shown on the original title deed rather than the value of the property at the time of application.

I want to resign and don't want to work for my company for the one month during the notice period. Can I opt to pay them? I haven't worked for a full year so will they still keep me for 45 days? WM, Sharjah

Under UAE Labour Law, all employees must give the appropriate written notice of resignation. This is a minimum of 30 days per Article 117, but can be longer if agreed at outset. Unless the employer has broken the law, any employee can get an employment ban if they do not give the appropriate notice, and if they leave the country they will be marked as absconded and can be banned for a full year. WM refers to a period of 45 days and I understand he is on a fixed-term contract, so not only must he give notice per his contract, he must also pay a penalty for breaking the terms of the contract by leaving early. Per Article 116, “… the worker shall be bound to compensate the employer for the loss incurred thereto by reason of the rescission of the contract, provided that the amount of compensation does not exceed the wage of half a month for the period of three months, or for the remaining period of the contract, whichever is shorter, unless otherwise stipulated in the contract.” If an employer is amenable, they can to allow an employee to leaver sooner than the end of the given notice period, but they have no obligation to do so.

Keren Bobker is an independent financial adviser and senior partner with Holborn Assets in Dubai, with over 20 years’ experience. Contact her at keren@holbornassets.com. Follow her on Twitter at @FinancialUAE.

The advice provided in our columns does not constitute legal advice and is provided for information only.

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Women & Power: A Manifesto

Mary Beard

Profile Books and London Review of Books 

Banned items
Dubai Police has also issued a list of banned items at the ground on Sunday. These include:
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  • Radios or power banks
  • Laser pointers
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Austria 2
Hinteregger (53'), Schopf (69')

Germany 1
Ozil (11')

The Outsider

Stephen King, Penguin

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
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When: December 27-29, 2018

Confirmed: men: Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Kevin Anderson, Dominic Thiem, Hyeon Chung, Karen Khachanov; women: Venus Williams

Tickets: www.ticketmaster.ae, Virgin megastores or call 800 86 823

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The Flights

Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Johannesburg from Dubai and Abu Dhabi respectively. Economy return tickets cost from Dh2,650, including taxes.

The trip

Worldwide Motorhoming Holidays (worldwidemotorhomingholidays.co.uk) operates fly-drive motorhome holidays in eight destinations, including South Africa. Its 14-day Kruger and the Battlefields itinerary starts from Dh17,500, including campgrounds, excursions, unit hire and flights. Bobo Campers has a range of RVs for hire, including the 4-berth Discoverer 4 from Dh600 per day.

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Personalities on the Plate: The Lives and Minds of Animals We Eat

Barbara J King, University of Chicago Press 

Results

Female 49kg: Mayssa Bastos (BRA) bt Thamires Aquino (BRA); points 0-0 (advantage points points 1-0).

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”