NEWS FROM THE UAE
SOURCE : THE NATIONAL

 
Abu Dhabi house prices soften

ABU DHABI - JAN 28: Property prices have fallen in Abu Dhabi by an average of 15 per cent in recent months, but a lack of finance is stalling the market, according to industry experts.

Prices in the secondary property market have softened after peaking last summer, with big falls occurring at Al Raha Beach and Al Reem Island, according to LLJ Property, a property broker based in the capital.

The prices of apartments at both developments, which reached an average of Dh1,900 per square foot in September, are now worth about Dh1,600.

Still, the prices are higher than they were at this time last year, according to Linda Loughnane, the managing director of LLJ Property.

Apartments at Al Raha Beach and Al Reem Island were then selling for an average of Dh1,200 per sq ft, she said. “The drop is the result of a lack of confidence due to a lack of finance,” she said.

Villas at Al Reef – the only affordable development targeting middle incomes in Abu Dhabi, which will be ready for delivery this September – are now selling for about Dh700 per sq ft compared with Dh1,060 at its peak last year.

Rene Mayer, the managing director of Hayatt Real Estate Agency, said that “while there’s been a dip in the market”, the company was still seeing interest from buyers – but the main issue was accessing finance.

“There are buyers out there and for the first time we’re seeing people who are waiting for construction to be completed and who plan to live in the properties,” he said.
“They have a good income and want to get good deals because the prices are softening, but they need finance and are now in an unfortunate position because liquidity has dried up.”

Mr Mayer said the market needed “banks to return to their old lending mentality”.
Sorouh Real Estate says it has taken steps to generate finance solutions for its end-user customers as well as for speculators who can no longer meet payment instalments. The company is working on finance deals with Abu Dhabi Finance and Aseel Bank, the Islamic finance arm of First Gulf Bank.

“We have coupled [the defaults] with financing,” said Gurjit Singh, the company’s property development officer. “A lot of investors now have mortgages that are allowing them to make the necessary progress in their payment plans.” Mr Singh said that part of the company’s plan was to “turn speculators into end-users”.

“There is a clear tendency for the shorter-term investors to look at longer-term investments. The simple reason for this is that there is yield for rental in Abu Dhabi,” he said. “So a very important point of differentiation for a developer now is the conversion rate of speculators into an end-user or a longer-term investor.”
An executive at Aldar Properties said finance deals for its customers were “in the pipeline”.

Liquidity will also be boosted by the mortgage provider, Abu Dhabi Finance, a joint venture between Mubadala Development, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Aldar Properties, Sorouh Real Estate and the Tourism Development and Investment Company.

Meanwhile, speculators who bought property in Abu Dhabi are seeking financial support from developers to help them continue with their payments.

“We bought stock on Reem Island two years ago, some of which we’ve paid 40 per cent towards,” said one investor who is part of a group of 20 from the UK. “We sold some of it last year and made a good return, but we wanted to keep the rest until completion for rental purposes, especially the commercial property.

“But the problem now is we haven’t got the cash to pay for the rest so we need local help. We’re speaking to the finance guys to find out what they’re coming up with and with the developers about moving forward.”

Though property prices in Dubai and Abu Dhabi have been fuelled mainly by speculation, the investor said that some developers were also to blame. “They had buyers but a shortage of stock, so they then bought the property back from us and sold it on for a great profit – this happened in a lot of cases.”

Car showroom murderer sentenced to death

DUBAI - JAN 28: Judges yesterday sentenced to death a man convicted of killing a night watchman during a bungled attempt last year to steal money from a car showroom. It is the first death sentence to be handed down in the emirate for three years.

Saeed bin Sarm, the presiding judge at the Court of First Instance said the cool, calculating nature of the crime had played a part in the three judges arriving at a unanimous verdict and sentence.

“The defendant’s determination was clear to take the life of the victim,” Judge Sarm wrote in his summary of the ruling.

“To do so he came to the showroom late at night after making his preparations, purchasing a knife, a hammer and gloves, and lay in wait and observed the victim for some time before stabbing him repeatedly.”

Under the UAE Federal Penal Code, a harsher penalty is imposed if a murder is committed in the process of a theft or attempted theft from an employer.

The judge said the defendant, a 24-year-old Pakistani identified only as AK, had then hit Badan Bahadur, 34, over the head with the hammer.

In his summary, Judge Sarm said “the devil whispered” to the defendant to take the life of his victim.

All capital cases are referred automatically to the Court of Appeal, which has the power to commute the sentence to life in prison if it finds there were mitigating circumstances. This process could take up to a year.

If the appeal fails, the death sentence will not be made final until it has been upheld by the Court of Cassation. After this, the Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid, may either sign the death warrant or exercise clemency.

The defendant, who worked for the company as an office boy, broke into the car showroom at about 1am on March 7 last year, prying open the automatic sliding doors. He knew money was kept in the safe over the weekend.

Hiding inside one of the cars on display, he lay in wait for his victim for one-and-a-half hours, passing the time by playing games on his mobile phone.

After murdering the Nepalese watchman, AK used a blowtorch in a failed attempt to open the safe, which contained Dh457,600 (US$124,500). According to the Public Prosecutor’s office, which disclosed details of the murder in May last year, the blowtorch ran out of gas. Before fleeing empty-handed, AK tried to set fire to the building to cover up his crime.

At a press conference in May, Essam Eisa Humaidan, the Dubai Attorney General, said A K had needed money because his sister in Pakistan was getting married.

“The culprit knew there would be money in the safe on a Thursday as he knew the accountant would only send the cash to the bank the following day,” said Mr Humaidan, “and on that particular Thursday there were good sales at the showroom, so we knew from the start the crime was carried out by someone who had inside knowledge.”

AK stabbed Mr Bahadur in the chest and stomach three times and in the back eight times, and continued to stab him after he had fallen to the floor.

A video of AK re-enacting his crime for prosecutors was presented as evidence at his trial. He also took them to the shop where he had bought the knife, which sold ones that were found to match the victim’s wounds.

At first, police thought they were investigating a fire and a case of suspected arson, but the first officers at the scene noticed traces of blood outside the watchman’s room. Breaking down the door, they found the victim lying face down.

The next day the defendant came to work as usual, helping to clear the damage from the fire and joking and laughing with his fellow workers.

In June, AK pleaded not guilty to charges of premeditated murder, theft and attempted arson before the Court of First Instance.

During the trial the court heard from several witnesses, including the two officers who arrested and interrogated the defendant and two employees at the car showroom.

One of the officers told the court that AK had freely confessed to the murder and led police to the gloves and knife he had used.

Start of prayer broadcast cancelled

ABU DHABI - JAN 28: The loudspeaker announcements signalling the start of prayer have been cancelled by the General Authority for Islamic Affairs and Endowments (Awqaf).

The call for iqamat-as-salat, which signals the beginning of the congregational prayers for Muslims, is no longer being relayed from speakers at mosques in the city of Abu Dhabi.

In a statement issued yesterday, Awqaf said the iqama call had been cancelled to stop worshippers running to the mosque at the last minute. The appropriate way to go to the mosque was to walk slowly and with purpose at the sounding of the azan, or call to prayer, it said.

“It is sufficient for the iqama to take place inside the mosque, without it being broadcast,” the statement read.

“The iqama is for the benefit of those already present inside the mosque … and scholars agree that the iqama should be delivered at a softer, quieter voice than the call to prayer.”

The purpose for the iqama is to help the imam lead worshippers inside a mosque so that everyone’s prayer movements are synchronised. The azan, on the other hand, indicates that the time to pray has arrived and, technically, it is possible to pray at any point after this sounds.

However, in the Islamic tradition it is preferable for a Muslim to pray as part of a congregation in a mosque unless attendance causes hardship. Even when going to a mosque is not possible, many Muslims who share a space at work or in living quarters prefer to pray together, with one of them leading the prayer.

Although those already inside the mosque will still hear the iqama, many people feel the decision by Awqaf hinders their ability to pray in unison with those inside the mosques.

Ahmed Yousef, who works in IT, said he could not believe the news. “I noticed the iqama had stopped and I went to the Awqaf website to see if it was official, but I couldn’t find anything.

“Now I have heard about this statement I am very sad. It will affect everyone. The iqama is as important as the azan [call to prayer] and I see no reason for it to stop.”

Awqaf said that by reducing the volume of the second announcement, people will be obliged to go the mosque as soon as they hear the azan, thus encouraging more worshippers to pray in congregation.

“When a Muslim hears the call to prayer, he or she ought to head to the mosque,” said the statement. “The Muslim scholars have agreed that a call to prayer should be from a minaret high above ground. In our day and age, it is sufficient to broadcast the call to prayer through loudspeakers. As for the iqama, the Prophet and his contemporaries did not deliver it from the minaret.”

The decision has caused controversy in the capital, particularly among women, for whom it is not compulsory to pray at the mosque, and for those unable to leave their homes.

Karima, a mother of four, who asked that only her first name be used, said: “Five times a day I wait at home until I hear the iqama to begin my prayer. Now, as I won’t know when it is, I might delay my prayers unintentionally.”

Karima added that as there had been no official announcement, many missed the timing for their prayers before realising the iqama was not going to sound. “For women praying at home, or even men who can’t make it to the mosque, we need the call as a reminder. If they had told us, then at least we would have known,” she said.

Hessa al Hirsi, a housewife from Abu Dhabi said: “This news really hurts me. We are in a Muslim country and to hear that they are imposing these rules is terrible. If it starts here then where will it stop? I’m afraid they will cancel the azan altogether and then my children will grow up without a reminder to pray.

“The prayer is the most important icon in our religion and anything preventing it is not acceptable.”

In the other emirates and in Al Ain, the iqama broadcasts continue. It is not known whether Awqaf will enforce the decision nationwide.

Mr Yousef said: “I think I speak for every Muslim when I say I hope the iqama returns soon.”

Natural gas stations ready by end of year

ABU DHABI - JAN 28: As many as 10,000 cars a day could be fuelled with compressed natural gas (CNG) instead of petrol within a year, energy officials said yesterday.

The nation’s leading oil company, Adnoc, plans to build 16 CNG pumping stations by year-end, marking the start of a national distribution network.

“In Adnoc Distribution we are actually starting a new business,” said Clark Munro, a sales engineer from Adnoc Distribution’s natural gas division, as he announced the plans at the City Gas Mena conference.

“Adnoc Distribution and Abu Dhabi have taken the lead in the UAE, and now will further co-operate with other authorities in other emirates to start a national network of NGV [natural gas vehicle] fuelling stations.”

The company would also establish conversion workshops where petrol-run vehicles could be fitted with natural gas tanks in the boot. Cars fuelled by CNG, which is lead-free and contains mostly methane, produce 90 per cent less carbon monoxide, a poisonous gas that contributes to air pollution, than regular petrol, the Environment
Agency – Abu Dhabi says.

CNG also produces less of most other air pollutants than petrol, including 25 per cent less carbon dioxide, the most important greenhouse gas associated with man made global warming, and no lung-irritating particulates. But getting members of the public to use CNG would take time, Mr Munro said at the conference at the Sheraton Hotel and Resort, and the shift would ultimately be driven by price.

The cost of gas is listed as Dh1.34 a kilogram at the two CNG test pumps at the station on Al Meena Road near Al Salam Street.

A gallon of special petrol at Adnoc costs Dh6.25, while a gallon of e-plus is Dh5.75.
One gallon of petrol is equal to 3.08kg of natural gas, according to the instructions, which would mean saving more than Dh2 a gallon.

The UAE’s natural gas reserves are the fifth largest in the world, but are not easily accessible.

Mr Munro acknowledged that the “availability in Abu Dhabi is small”, but said supply of natural gas for vehicles was “not an issue”.

Another arm of Adnoc, Abu Dhabi Gas Industries (Gasco) has awarded the contract for building and maintaining the 16 stations to a Munich-based company, Bauer Kompressoren.

Representatives of the German company at the conference said they expected to have the stations open by the end of the year.

Adnoc will first focus on converting fleet vehicles, including the emirate’s silver taxis, utility company fleets, Adnoc’s own vehicles and Armed Forces and police vehicles.

TransAD, the emirate’s taxi regulator, confirmed it would start converting 10 per cent of its fleet for CNG once the fuel is available.

Of the 16 new stations, nine would be in Abu Dhabi, five in Sharjah and two in Al Ain. The Abu Dhabi stations would include Khalifa City, Ghantoot and Officers City.

Adnoc will be looking to add more stations, Mr Munro said.

At present 35 vehicles have been converted to run on CNG as part of a pilot project.
Some countries have embraced CNG use for vehicles, including Pakistan, where more than 9 million vehicles run on it. In 2001, buses, taxis and auto rickshaws were all converted to CNG and the move has been credited with improving air quality in the city.

When a vehicle is converted, the driver can choose which fuel to use by flipping a switch in the vehicle. The tanks take up a lot of space in the boot, which is why some consumers resist changing.

Adnoc is preparing a campaign to educate on CNG’s environmental benefits, and to assure it is safe.

Motorists had mixed feelings about CNG yesterday.

Zoeb Hatim, from Mumbai, said he was familiar with CNG and thought it was a good idea to introduce it. “It is cheaper, no?” Mr Hatim said. “It is better for pollution.”

But Rageh al Souliman, an engineer from Syria, said he would be concerned for his safety with a CNG tank in his boot. “This gas it is too much dangerous,” Mr al Souliman said. “If there is an accident, maybe the car would explode.”

Bauer Kompressoren, the Munich-based company awarded the contract to build and maintain the 16 stations, said tests had proven the cylinders were resilient.

The company said the tanks had brake valves so they would not explode. Leakage could be a problem, but natural gas is lighter than air and quickly dissipates.

The UAE’s natural gas reserves are the fifth largest in the world but are not easily accessible. Mr Munro acknowledged “availability in Abu Dhabi is small”, but said supply was not an issue.

Countries around the world have embraced CNG, including Pakistan, where there are more than nine million vehicles running on it.

In the Indian capital of New Delhi, buses, taxis and auto rickshaws were all converted to CNG in 2001. The move was credited with improving air quality in the city, according to a 2007 study by Urvashi Narain and Alan Krupnick.