Expo 2020
Examining the legacy of Dubai Expo 2020
Panellists deliberating on the legacy of Dubai Expo 2020.
Dubai has earned itself the rightful place to host Expo 2020, an inspiring odyssey that will commence on 20 October 2020 and run through 10 April 2021. A formidable quartet comprising eminent professional and business luminaries offer their insights on the legacy of the mega event.
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huge amount of excitement, commentary and press attention has been generated since Dubai was selected to host the Expo 2020 in 2013. With the event expected to contribute approximately Dh122.6bn ($33.4bn) to Dubai’s economy between 2013 and 2031, a wide range of sectors–including financial services, infrastructure, construction, real estate, hospitality, tourism and transport– have already begun to benefit from increased spending and investment in the run-up to the event. However, the precise impact and legacy of Expo 2020 remains difficult to predict. During a panel discussion held to commemorate the launch of the new report on Dubai’s economy published by Oxford Business Group, four high-level panellists from key industries met recently at NASDAQ’s MarketSite in the Dubai International Financial Centre to discuss their perspectives on what awaits the emirate beyond 2020. These were Hussein Sajwani, Founder and Chairman of DAMAC Properties; Elissar Farah Antonios, CEO of Citibank UAE and Cluster Head for Levant and Iraq;Taha Khalifa, Client Computing Group
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Sales Director of EMEA Territory at Intel Corporation; Christophe Nicaise, Chief Strategy and Business Development Officer at Seddiqi Holdings, took to the stage to offer their perspectiveson the future.
Real estate:
Following a couple of unremarkable years, growth in the real estate sector began to pick up in 2018, increasing by 7%, according to theDubai Land Department. Despite certain analysts’ projections that growth would remain at around 6% to 10% in 2019-20, oversupply of residential units has put strains on the industry, with various factors including overconfidence in demand, increased competition and a slowing global economy leading some developers to slow their operations or decrease the number of new launches. However, according to Sajwani, demand remains robust, with total unit sales across the sector expected to reach between 25,000 and 30,000 in 2019. Nevertheless, with the imbalance between supply and demand expected to continue driving prices down in the short to medium term, the future of the industry will likely be determined by the corrective actions taken.“Improved efficiency in the market, driven by the
fast flow of information resultingfrom wider use of digital channels, has enabled investors and buyers to leverage the current market dynamic to bring down prices. An oversupply of a mere 3-4% today can result in a 30-40% drop in prices, as the balance of power moves from developers to consumers,” Sajwani said.
Beyond:
A number of measures are in motion to find an equilibrium between supply and demand, including the creation of the higher committee for real estate planning, headed by Sheikh Maktoum Bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and individual companies’ engagement to ease new development. While the impact of these measures remains to be seen, Sajwani believes that slowing down construction for approximately 14 to 18 months would effectively mitigate any additional effects on the industry. Expo 2020’s main contribution to the property market is that it will enable Dubai to showcase its potential to foreign investors, especially those coming from Asia and Africa. Referencing this new trend, Sajwani said,“With over 1.3bn people – 200m of whom can afford to travel abroad – China is one of the markets
