By: Mahmoud Gamal

Dubai – Mubasher: Emaar Properties’ AED 4 billion dividends were a positive sign for investors, who anticipate further dividends for 2017.

The UAE’s markets top the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region in terms of dividends, as the UAE-based companies' 2016 dividends reached AED 28.5 billion. 

The UAE-based firms’ dividends for 2017 will exceed the amounts distributed for 2016, given the execution of a slew of projects in the country, said Fadi El-Ghattis, MindCraft Consultants’ CEO.

The average of annual dividends yield is projected to reach 7% in 2017, compared to 5.25% in 2016, which would attract fresh foreign investment, El-Ghattis added.

The growth of real estate projects and sales will propel real estate companies, especially Emaar Properties, DAMAC Properties, and Union Properties, to pay cash dividends, the analyst noted.

The dividends for the last year would be remarkable, vice president institutional desk at Menacorp Ahmed Waheed commented, stating that Waha Capital would be one of the biggest dividends payers in the UAE, distributing a minimum amount of AED 0.2 per share.

Dividends in the real estate sector may be affected by the decline in oil prices, while the geopolitical instability in the GCC will lead major companies to hold their liquidity, Waheed concluded.

Translated by: Muhammad Khalid