DUBAI — Dubai remains the most attractive destination to private investors in the GCC region, a new report published by real estate firm Cluttons said Monday. Its first Middle East Private Capital Survey, which aimed to highlight attitudes and behaviors of high net worth individuals (HNWI) in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Manama, Muscat and Riyadh, also showed that Riyadh and Doha were emerging as strong secondary and tertiary target locations. Cluttons said despite Eurozone uncertainty dragging down the performance of the broader global economy, the Middle East was the only global region to have recorded positive growth in total HNWI wealth from 2010 to date. It added that the number of HNWIs looking to invest regionally is 60 percent higher than in 2011, and that 80 percent of those surveyed are very likely to make an investment in the region during 2013. The report said Dubai was the top investment target for both investors from the UAE and those from all other cities surveyed, with 80 percent of HNWIs “very likely” to make an investment in Dubai during 2013. Within Dubai itself, HNWI interests were split across residential (40 percent), hotel and leisure (40 percent) and retail and malls (20 percent), Cluttons said. The report said typical budgets for Abu Dhabi's HNWIs seeking residential assets in Dubai range from AED50-80 million. Aside from Dubai, Saudi Arabia's residential market (20 percent) and Doha's office (7.5 percent), hotel and leisure sectors (7.5 percent) remained high on the wishlists of Abu Dhabi's HNWI, it added. — SG
