By: Amr Adel

Dubai – Mubasher: The Dubai Land Department (DED) is currently working on attracting real estate investments from China and Russia over the next two years, said Majida Ali Rashid, DLD assistant director general on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of the Cityscape Global 2017 event in Dubai, Rashid revealed that the DLD was targeting AED 2 billion ($545 million) worth of investments from the two countries.

She added that the emirate of Dubai was eyeing around AED 1 billion in investments from each country, noting that China and Russia are the two largest real estate markets in the world.

Earlier on Tuesday, the DLD announced appointing UC Forward, a Dubai-based real estate marketing firm, along with a Chinese partner, to attract investments.

The two partners have whom stressed their commitment to attracting Chinese investments worth AED 1 billion to the Dubai property market.

This is the first time the DLD appoints a Chinese firm to carry out such a role.

Rashid, who doubles as the head of real estate investment management and promotion centre, noted that Chinese investors’ purchases in Dubai’s real estate market reached AED 12.1 billion in the second quarter of 2017.

Rashed further noted that the number of Chinese investors since 1996 to-date has reached 4,475 investors varying between individuals and companies.

Chinese investors rank 12th among major foreign investors in Dubai, according to data released by the DLD.

Translated by: Nada Adel Sobhi