Dubai Real Estate Firms Reassure Investors as Bonds Slip Into Distress - Bloomberg
A number of developers in the United Arab Emirates have held calls with investors to allay concerns over a potential liquidity crunch, a stark reversal of fortunes as the Iran war approaches the one-month mark.
Developers including Binghatti Holding Ltd. and Omniyat Holdings Ltd. spoke with investors on Wednesday as their bonds slipped into distressed territory following the conflict, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information.
Others, including Sobha Realty and Arada Developments, have held similar calls since the war began, some of the people said. Debt issued by all four companies is rated below investment grade by major ratings firms, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
Earlier this month, Emaar Properties PJSC — the developer of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower — also reached out to investors, some of the people said. The firm’s shares are down about 28% since the conflict began, under-performing Dubai’s benchmark, which has fallen around 17%.
The moves reflects a rapid shift in sentiment. Dubai’s real estate market is coming off a record rally driven by ultra-wealthy buyers who snapped up luxury villas and penthouses, pushing the emirate ahead of New York and Hong Kong in sales of homes priced above $10 million.
But the UAE has borne the brunt of retaliation from Tehran since the US-Israeli war on Iran began on Feb. 28, with energy infrastructure, airports and residential and commercial buildings hit by projectiles and debris. Even so, much of the country remains operational: businesses are open, many offices have shifted to remote work, and investors continue to pursue global deals.
Still, brokers have told Bloomberg News that many buyers are adopting a wait-and-see approach. Early signs suggest some are halting plans to purchase properties ahead of construction, or “off plan.”
During the recent calls, several developers presented stress-test scenarios aimed at demonstrating liquidity resilience.
Binghatti, whose call drew more than 300 investors, outlined a worst-case scenario involving a 20% decline in collections and a 30% drop in average selling prices of unsold inventory. Even under those assumptions, the company projected cash of more than 5 billion dirhams ($1.4 billion) by year-end and close to 14 billion dirhams by the end of 2027, the people said. The firm added it has seen no delays in customer payments or defaults.
Representatives for Binghatti, which focuses on mid-market housing but has also pushed into luxury projects — including plans for a Mercedes-branded tower and one of the world’s tallest residential buildings — declined to comment.
Omniyat also presented downside scenarios, modeling declines of more than 20% in property prices alongside higher default rates, while maintaining that its liquidity position would remain intact, according to people familiar with the matter. A spokesperson for the firm declined to comment.
The ultra-luxury developer said in a separate statement on Thursday that it has a “strong liquidity position” of more than $1.4 billion in cash and equivalents, including $726 million of unrestricted corporate liquidity not subject to escrow or regulatory ring-fencing. The company said this would fully cover its $500 million sukuk maturing in 2028 without relying on property sales, buyer collections, refinancing or additional capital markets activity.
Some of Binghatti’s and Omniyat’s sukuk have slipped back below the distressed threshold — trading with a yield spread of over 1,000 basis points above the risk-free rate — after rebounding on Wednesday.
Ratings agencies have flagged geopolitical risks to demand and the potential for higher construction costs, with Fitch Ratings placing Binghatti, Omniyat and, more recently, Arada on watch for possible downgrades.
Representatives for the Arada, co-owned by the son of Saudi Arabian Prince Alwaleed bin Talal and a member of Sharjah’s royal family, declined to comment on the call. The firm previously told Bloomberg News it had taken proactive steps to reinforce liquidity.
A spokesperson for Sobha Realty confirmed the firm has held multiple investor calls, where it assured investors it has “a strong liquidity position” and that liquidity preservation remains its top priority. The developer, owned by an Indian tycoon, has also been looking to expand into the US in recent months.
Representatives for Emaar did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Before the war, property companies had been on a borrowing spree as they raced to secure sites for residential projects in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Real estate bond issuance in the UAE reached nearly $7 billion in 2025, more than double the 2024 total, which was itself a record. That has created a growing wall of maturities, with about $8 billion due by 2030.
Thursday, 26 March 2026
Public Investment Fund Sticks to Overseas Deals as Regional Tensions Rise - Bloomberg #SaudiArabia
Public Investment Fund Sticks to Overseas Deals as Regional Tensions Rise - Bloomberg
The top official at Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund said it remains committed to investments around the world despite growing concerns over the mounting economic costs of the war.
“The Saudi macroeconomic and physical position remains strong, stable and resilient,” said Yasir Al Rumayyan, governor of the $1 trillion Public Investment Fund. “We measure our returns not in quarters but in decades, and PIF remains committed to its investments around the world.”
Al Rumayyan was speaking at the Future Investment Initiative event in Miami, against the backdrop of a regional war that’s now in its fourth week. Over the past month, Iran has attacked energy infrastructure across the oil-rich region, raising concerns that the kingdom and other Gulf nations might pull back from international investments.
Tehran’s projectiles have hit Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil refinery at Ras Tanura, and repeatedly targeted the kingdom’s Shaybah oil field, which has the capacity to produce 1 million barrels of crude a day.
Still, Gulf sovereign investors are pressing ahead with global dealmaking. Savvy Games Group, a unit of the PIF, agreed to buy Moonton from ByteDance this month in a deal valuing the mobile games maker at $6 billion.
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, has also been active in March, while Qatar’s wealth fund and a Bahraini aluminum firm both announced large deals in the first week of the war.
In his comments, Al Rumayyan touched upon the PIF’s upcoming long-term investment strategy. The wealth fund wants to include the private sector in its work, both domestically and internationally, he said, highlighting sectors including renewables and data centers.
“We want the whole world to come and invest in Saudi,” he said.
In a separate conversation, Yazeed Al Humied, one of the fund’s two deputy governors and chief of its Middle East and North Africa unit, said private credit was another area of focus. The kingdom is “significantly under-served,” he said, adding that the regulator is supporting efforts to bolster that pocket of finance.
At the event, King Street Capital Management LP said it had signed an agreement to invest in alternative credit with the PIF’s backing. That adds to a rush by private credit firms, who have been jockeying for deals in Saudi Arabia, where liquidity in the banking system has been drained by the kingdom’s economic diversification projects.
The wealth fund is the main driver of that multitrillion-dollar diversification plan known as Vision 2030. It plans to boost total annual deployment to $70 billion a year after 2025 and emphasized that its investments in absolute dollar terms will continue to rise abroad even as it focuses at home.
In the months before the conflict began, officials in Riyadh had started making tougher spending decisions, ordering sweeping reviews of ambitious projects across the country and beginning to pivot toward areas more likely to attract foreign investment.
FII Miami is an invitation-only conference that’s run by an organization affiliated with the PIF and is meant to be a smaller version of an annual event in Riyadh. US President Donald Trump is headlining the three-day conference, an annual bash that lures titans of finance and politics.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump threatened Iran with intensified military action after Tehran rejected Washington’s push for peace talks, a sign he’s not backing down.
The top official at Saudi Arabia’s wealth fund said it remains committed to investments around the world despite growing concerns over the mounting economic costs of the war.
“The Saudi macroeconomic and physical position remains strong, stable and resilient,” said Yasir Al Rumayyan, governor of the $1 trillion Public Investment Fund. “We measure our returns not in quarters but in decades, and PIF remains committed to its investments around the world.”
Al Rumayyan was speaking at the Future Investment Initiative event in Miami, against the backdrop of a regional war that’s now in its fourth week. Over the past month, Iran has attacked energy infrastructure across the oil-rich region, raising concerns that the kingdom and other Gulf nations might pull back from international investments.
Tehran’s projectiles have hit Saudi Arabia’s biggest oil refinery at Ras Tanura, and repeatedly targeted the kingdom’s Shaybah oil field, which has the capacity to produce 1 million barrels of crude a day.
Still, Gulf sovereign investors are pressing ahead with global dealmaking. Savvy Games Group, a unit of the PIF, agreed to buy Moonton from ByteDance this month in a deal valuing the mobile games maker at $6 billion.
Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, has also been active in March, while Qatar’s wealth fund and a Bahraini aluminum firm both announced large deals in the first week of the war.
In his comments, Al Rumayyan touched upon the PIF’s upcoming long-term investment strategy. The wealth fund wants to include the private sector in its work, both domestically and internationally, he said, highlighting sectors including renewables and data centers.
“We want the whole world to come and invest in Saudi,” he said.
In a separate conversation, Yazeed Al Humied, one of the fund’s two deputy governors and chief of its Middle East and North Africa unit, said private credit was another area of focus. The kingdom is “significantly under-served,” he said, adding that the regulator is supporting efforts to bolster that pocket of finance.
At the event, King Street Capital Management LP said it had signed an agreement to invest in alternative credit with the PIF’s backing. That adds to a rush by private credit firms, who have been jockeying for deals in Saudi Arabia, where liquidity in the banking system has been drained by the kingdom’s economic diversification projects.
The wealth fund is the main driver of that multitrillion-dollar diversification plan known as Vision 2030. It plans to boost total annual deployment to $70 billion a year after 2025 and emphasized that its investments in absolute dollar terms will continue to rise abroad even as it focuses at home.
In the months before the conflict began, officials in Riyadh had started making tougher spending decisions, ordering sweeping reviews of ambitious projects across the country and beginning to pivot toward areas more likely to attract foreign investment.
FII Miami is an invitation-only conference that’s run by an organization affiliated with the PIF and is meant to be a smaller version of an annual event in Riyadh. US President Donald Trump is headlining the three-day conference, an annual bash that lures titans of finance and politics.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump threatened Iran with intensified military action after Tehran rejected Washington’s push for peace talks, a sign he’s not backing down.
Mideast Stocks: Gulf markets slip as Middle East tensions keep investors cautious
Mideast Stocks: Gulf markets slip as Middle East tensions keep investors cautious
Most Gulf equities ended lower on Thursday as investors remained cautious over fast-moving developments in the Middle East, and Iran said it was reviewing a U.S. proposal to end the conflict.
President Donald Trump said Iran was eager to strike a deal, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said there had been no direct dialogue or negotiations with the U.S., although messages had been exchanged through intermediaries.
Conflicting messages from both sides over ceasefire talks have kept investors on edge. Dubai's main share index - which jumped more than 4% in the previous session - slid 3.2%, with Emaar Properties retreating 4.7% and top lender Emirates NBD tumbling 5%.
In Abu Dhabi, the index dropped 1.8%, hit by a 2.6% fall in Aldar Properties. GCC equity markets experienced pressure amid intensifying geopolitical risks, which continued to weigh on investor sentiment and reinforce caution across the region, Milad Azar market analyst at XTB MENA.
The unclear outlook for ongoing diplomatic efforts generated mixed market behavior, while evolving expectations sustained near-term volatility, Azar added.
The Qatari index declined 1.3%, weighed down by a 1.2% fall in Qatar Islamic Bank and a 4.1% slide in Qatar Gas Transport. According to Azar, GCC markets will remain vulnerable to geopolitical shifts, but diplomatic progress and strong macro fundamentals could support a rebound.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index reversed early losses to finish 0.1% higher, helped by a 1.6% gain in petrochemical maker Saudi Basic Industries Corp and a 0.5% increase in oil behemoth Saudi Aramco. Oil rose more than 3%, rebounding from the previous session's losses, as prospects for a prolonged conflict in the Middle East stoked concerns over further supply disruptions.
The near-month-long war, sparked by joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, has effectively brought about a closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil and liquefied natural gas flow. Outside the Gulf.
Most Gulf equities ended lower on Thursday as investors remained cautious over fast-moving developments in the Middle East, and Iran said it was reviewing a U.S. proposal to end the conflict.
President Donald Trump said Iran was eager to strike a deal, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said there had been no direct dialogue or negotiations with the U.S., although messages had been exchanged through intermediaries.
Conflicting messages from both sides over ceasefire talks have kept investors on edge. Dubai's main share index - which jumped more than 4% in the previous session - slid 3.2%, with Emaar Properties retreating 4.7% and top lender Emirates NBD tumbling 5%.
In Abu Dhabi, the index dropped 1.8%, hit by a 2.6% fall in Aldar Properties. GCC equity markets experienced pressure amid intensifying geopolitical risks, which continued to weigh on investor sentiment and reinforce caution across the region, Milad Azar market analyst at XTB MENA.
The unclear outlook for ongoing diplomatic efforts generated mixed market behavior, while evolving expectations sustained near-term volatility, Azar added.
The Qatari index declined 1.3%, weighed down by a 1.2% fall in Qatar Islamic Bank and a 4.1% slide in Qatar Gas Transport. According to Azar, GCC markets will remain vulnerable to geopolitical shifts, but diplomatic progress and strong macro fundamentals could support a rebound.
Saudi Arabia's benchmark index reversed early losses to finish 0.1% higher, helped by a 1.6% gain in petrochemical maker Saudi Basic Industries Corp and a 0.5% increase in oil behemoth Saudi Aramco. Oil rose more than 3%, rebounding from the previous session's losses, as prospects for a prolonged conflict in the Middle East stoked concerns over further supply disruptions.
The near-month-long war, sparked by joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran, has effectively brought about a closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global oil and liquefied natural gas flow. Outside the Gulf.
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