Dubai Real Estate’s Key Test

Dubai’s property sector is set to be in the spotlight again with the expected IPO of a key business park operator.

Dubai Holding’s Tecom Group, home to 7,500 companies, may announce its intention to float this week. Bankers describe the IPO as a key test of whether Dubai has truly drawn a line under its devastating 2009 crash.

But Tecom’s listing also coincides with a jump in prime real estate prices in the city. Buoyed by Asians escaping lockdowns to Russians parking their money since the invasion of Ukraine, Dubai’s high-end property rose 56% in 2021, outperforming global hubs such as San Francisco and London.

Still, Tecom may face a tougher sell than for example DEWA, the power and water utility that successfully listed in April, given Dubai real estate’s boom-and-bust history that began with the 2009 property crash.