Emaar chairman Mohamed Alabbar has announced that it is the “right time” to invest in Jordan, despite the current turmoil in neighbouring territories.
Addressing the World Economic Forum in Jordan at the weekend, Alabbar said the country’s economy is growing despite “chaos” in the surrounding region.
Al Arabiya quoted Alabbar as saying: “The numbers are working… I think it’s the right time now to make that investment.
“If Jordan has grown at about 4 percent now… imagine what will happen once all these issues are settled in the region.”
Emaar Properties, the builder of the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest tower, is understood to have interests in the Dead Sea resort, Amman and Aqaba.
Alabbar spoke on Friday at a panel discussion at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa 2015.
His comments follow those of Jordan’s King Abdullah II who has sought to reassure investors that his country has a stable economy and is a safe place to put their capital.
In an interview with CNBC’s Middle East correspondent Hadley Gamble, the monarch said Jordan’s economy had done “extremely well” considering the unrest in neighbouring Iraq and Syria.
“I think we have a history over many decades of Jordan always being stable throughout the region, whatever the crises are, and you have got to remember that with everything that is going on around us, Jordan has done extremely well,” he said.
Last month, Alabbar told Arabian Business that Emaar holds more than 235 million square metres of land for future development.
Alabbar disclosed for the first time the size of the Dubai developer’s land bank, stating that there is enough land to develop “for decades to come”.
Regarding future projects, Alabbar said the most important things developers can do is to “invest in quality design, provide good amenities [and] ensure good after-sales service”.
“Today, developers are doing well and enjoy good margins. So why can’t they do things well? I challenge them to do things right… I see no reason why these cannot be done,” he said.
Click here for all the stories from our coverage of the World Economic Forum, MENA, in Jordan
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