STOCKHOLM (Standard & Poor’s) March 17, 2009–Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services said today that it had lowered its long-term corporate credit rating on Dubai-based property developer Emaar Properties PJSC to ‘BBB+’ from ‘A-’. The outlook is negative.
It looks as though even the ruling family of Dubai is not immune to the stunning amount of lawsuits and court cases flying around the property investment world at the moment. An Iranian businessman is suing members of Dubai’s ruling family for close to two billion dollars over real estate investments, in a case which opened on Wednesday.
Dr Murtaza Mughal, President of Pakistan’s Economy Watch said on Saturday that a host of Pakistani businessmen have lost billions of dollars of investments in speculator-oriented Dubai real estate property downturn.
Honesty and trust are two major issues plaguing the Dubai property market at the moment. Dubai is crashing hard and fast, with The Trump International Hotel and Tower in Dubai canceled, and numerous developers in Dubai firing staff, yet still the developers and government insist on putting out dis-honest press releases aimed at presenting a false picture of the market. And so-called “news,” sources in the Gulf continue to publish them. Even when they directly contradict the facts.
