After the World Cup: what next for #Qatar? | Financial Times

After the World Cup: what next for Qatar? | Financial Times

The throngs of cheering football fans have long gone, but reminders of Qatar’s giddy moment on the global stage still dot Doha seven months on. 

There are the spectacular stadiums that hosted last year’s World Cup, most of which are waiting to be either downsized or repurposed; one into a wedding complex, others into mall and hotel parks. 

Along the corniche that was transformed into a fan zone during the tournament, hoarding boards promoting the football festival remain in place. A Fifa World Cup 2022 sculpture sits in the bay, dhows moored on the tranquil Gulf waters providing its backdrop. 

It is as if Qatar is clinging to the last vestiges of the tournament as it ponders how to top its success in becoming the first Arab or Muslim state to host one of the planet’s biggest sporting events. 

Qatar’s leaders insist there is no hangover. They are working on the next stage of the gas-rich state’s development, they say, the wealth and ambition that helped secure the World Cup undimmed. They describe their desire to create a “knowledge-based economy” and carve out a role as an “international problem solver”. There is talk of a bid for the 2036 Olympics.

Soaring demand helps #Dubai top list for luxury property transactions | Financial Times

Soaring demand helps Dubai top list for luxury property transactions | Financial Times

Soaring demand for luxury homes has propelled Dubai above the more established centres for prime property for the first time, as the Gulf business hub’s post-pandemic rebound continues to attract the world’s wealthy, including Russian buyers. 

Dubai was the busiest market for $10mn-plus homes in the first quarter of 2023, with 92 deals worth $1.7bn, according to research by real estate consultancy Knight Frank. By comparison, Hong Kong had 67 transactions valued at $988mn, New York raised $942mn in 58 deals and 36 sales were completed in London worth $736mn. 

Many of the world’s richest individuals are turning to Dubai as a financial haven, as they compete to snap up a limited stock of high-end properties. “Dubai’s luxury homes market continues to attract the attention of the world’s wealthy,” said Faisal Durrani, Knight Frank’s head of Middle East Research, adding that many were second homes. Over a five-year period, the number of sales of $10mn-plus homes in Dubai has risen seventeen-fold. 

On an annual basis, London claimed top spot last year with 246 $10mn-plus homes sold for $4.7bn, compared with the $3.9bn raised in Dubai in 224 transactions. 

The sanctions imposed on Russia and some of its leading businesspeople in the wake of last year’s Ukraine invasion has hastened the influx of wealthy residents to Dubai from both countries. The United Arab Emirates, which has close ties to the US and Russia, has remained neutral in the conflict, saying it welcomed non-sanctioned Russians. 

The Russian population of the UAE has risen fivefold since the invasion to as many as 500,000, according to unofficial estimates circling in the expatriate community.