CEO Predictions 2015: Khalid Bin Khalban, MD & CEO, Dubai Investments

The year 2014 has been a year of solid growth at Dubai Investments.

During the year, we not only built on our existing operations but also sought new growth opportunities – in the UAE as well as beyond. Thanks to our disciplined approach and continued focus on excellence, we achieved unprecedented growth across the entire spectrum of our business.

The year started with the euphoria persisting over Dubai winning the rights to host the Expo 2020. Thanks to this, we saw positive trends and an upswing in investor confidence. This renewed dynamism led to more local and international investors eyeing long-term investments, more so in the Dubai real estate sector.

As one of the leading real estate companies in the country, we realised that the time was opportune to reinforce our footprint in the sector. We were well positioned to capitalise on emerging opportunities, backed by our strong portfolio – the largest land banks in the UAE, our expertise in property development and management and
18 manufacturing units dealing in construction materials.

The year saw us unveil a wide array of iconic projects, including Mirdif Hills, Fujairah Business Centre, Green Community Phase III and the Warehouses in DIP, among others, marking the beginning of a sustained growth curve.

Needless to say, the upbeat sentiment across various sectors of the UAE economy helped us in our forward march.

Simultaneously, we announced a scale-up on our overseas operations with the launch of Dubai Investments International, mandated to build an international portfolio of diverse business assets across diversified sectors.

This, along with strategic divestments and structured Sukuk offerings, put us in an enviable growth path, and our impressive results are a testimony to this. Our growth during the year mirrored the resurgence across the UAE, particularly in the real estate sector.

The real estate sector is currently in the midst of robust growth, which is a reflection of its sound fundamentals and overall business and investor confidence, and this is expected to continue.

If 2014 was good for our growth, we expect 2015 to continue this momentum. We have two new acquisitions in the pipeline – one in the financial sector and another in real estate.

We also plan to continue our strong thrust in developing our real estate portfolio over the next two to three years.

In tandem, we are also exploring opportunities in strategically promising businesses in existing and new geographical locations across the region and beyond to consolidate our position as a global conglomerate.

With a clearly- defined strategic roadmap for 2015 and beyond, we are confident of maintaining a consistent growth trajectory in the months and years to come.

2015 is a bright year for Dubai Investments, as we mark our 20th anniversary – and we are thankful to the continued support and patronage of our partners, clients, stakeholders, and most importantly our employees.

I truly believe the best is yet to come. Our future looks brighter than our illustrious past.