Emirates Real Estate Fund continues to go from strength to strength - With assets under management now approaching US$400m, fourteen properties reflected in the portfolio representing commercial, residential and industrial sectors, and performance of 35.5% , the fund continues to see strong inflows.
The CEO of Emirates Islamic Bank Ebrahim Fayez Al Shamsi was pleased to announce that the Board of Directors of Emirates Real Estate Fund have approved a dividend of US$0.40 cents per share. The dividend applies to all income class shareholders in the register at the close of business on 29 June 2007. This is the fourth dividend to be distributed by the fund which brings the total dividend distribution since launch to $1.505 per share, (15% over two years). The fund was launched in June 2005 at a net asset value of $10 per share and the income share class continues to trade at a net asset value of $11.88 per share.
Investors in Emirates Real Estate Fund benefit from both income and capital gains through direct property investment. Investors can also chose the accumulation share class and benefit from the re-investment of their income, with a net asset value as at 29 June of $13.55 per share (35.5% over two years).
“The Emirates Real Estate Fund is committed to delivering value to investors by investing in real estate with strong long term capital growth and income opportunities. The fund had generated a positive return of 35.50% since launch while continuously distributing dividends to income shareholders.” said Mr. Ebrahim Fayez, CEO of Emirates Islamic Bank. “The Fund Management team is currently closing its 15th acquisition – a commercial property, which is largely income producing, and should shortly contribute to portfolio performance. A strong pipeline of diversified and attractive assets remains under negotiation in order to absorb the remaining cash position and continued strong inflows into the fund”.
Deon Vernooy, Head of Asset Management at Emirates Investment Services – the Discretionary Investment Manager to the portfolio further commented “The fund is well positioned to take advantage of a number of key opportunities that have been presented to us, and continue to deliver strong performance to investors as the UAE real estate markets begin to move towards a more mature status”. “We anticipate that the team’s continued hard work through Q1-Q2 of 2007 will lead to a number a further strong acquisitions and continued attractive performance in the 2nd half of the year”.
