Back to the complete issue
Tuesday, 2 August 2022

Aldar could invest USD 1.5 bn in Egypt, Saudi + the UAE over the next year

Emirati real estate giant Aldar Properties still sees potential to invest another USD 1.5 bn in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE over the next 6-12 months despite a higher interest rate environment, CEO Talal Al Dhiyebi told Bloomberg TV yesterday (watch, runtime: 6:17).

Land lovers: The company — which together with Abu Dhabi wealth fund ADQ acquired upmarket real estate developer SODIC last year — now wants to add to its land bank in Egypt. “We want to expand the land bank in key areas from the North Coast to West Cairo to East Cairo and then in future on the Red Sea. We’re in a number of discussions on expanding our land bank,” Al Dhiyebi said.

Still holding out hope for MNHD? SODIC will not consider raising its offer for Madinet Nasr Housing and Development (MNHD) until it is allowed to do due diligence and get a deeper understanding of the company’s assets, Al Dhiyebi said. MNHD’s board rejected last month SODIC’s non-binding offer of EGP 3.20-3.40 per share and suggested that it would not allow the company to do due diligence until it ups its bid. “The ball is really back in their court,” Al Dhiyebi said.

The company is also interested in the retail + education sectors: Aldar’s CFO said in February that the company could spend at least AED 5 bn (c. USD 1.4 bn) on acquisitions in Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia but at that time its focus was on retail and education assets.

“Egypt is a market that we really believe in for the long term. It’s self-sustained, the population is there,” Al Dhiyebi added. “There’s some macroeconomic headwinds, but long term we think the prospects are very positive.”

Enterprise is a daily publication of Enterprise Ventures LLC, an Egyptian limited liability company (commercial register 83594), and a subsidiary of Inktank Communications. Summaries are intended for guidance only and are provided on an as-is basis; kindly refer to the source article in its original language prior to undertaking any action. Neither Enterprise Ventures nor its staff assume any responsibility or liability for the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, whether in the form of summaries or analysis. © 2022 Enterprise Ventures LLC.

Enterprise is available without charge thanks to the generous support of HSBC Egypt (tax ID: 204-901-715), the leading corporate and retail lender in Egypt; EFG Hermes (tax ID: 200-178-385), the leading financial services corporation in frontier emerging markets; SODIC (tax ID: 212-168-002), a leading Egyptian real estate developer; SomaBay (tax ID: 204-903-300), our Red Sea holiday partner; Infinity (tax ID: 474-939-359), the ultimate way to power cities, industries, and homes directly from nature right here in Egypt; CIRA (tax ID: 200-069-608), the leading providers of K-12 and higher level education in Egypt; Orascom Construction (tax ID: 229-988-806), the leading construction and engineering company building infrastructure in Egypt and abroad; Moharram & Partners (tax ID: 616-112-459), the leading public policy and government affairs partner; Palm Hills Developments (tax ID: 432-737-014), a leading developer of commercial and residential properties; Mashreq (tax ID: 204-898-862), the MENA region’s leading homegrown personal and digital bank; Industrial Development Group (IDG) (tax ID:266-965-253), the leading builder of industrial parks in Egypt; Hassan Allam Properties (tax ID:  553-096-567), one of Egypt’s most prominent and leading builders; and Saleh, Barsoum & Abdel Aziz (tax ID: 220-002-827), the leading audit, tax and accounting firm in Egypt.