Emaar merger to lift realty market

CAIRO: The Dubai developer behind the world���s tallest building plans to merge with three rivals owned by the sheikdom���s ruler, in a consolidation aimed at better coping with a global meltdown fuelled weakness in the one-time Arab boomtown���s real estate sector.

In a statement posted Sunday on the Dubai Financial Market���s website, Emaar Properties said its proposed merger with Dubai Holding subsidiaries Dubai Properties, Samar Dubai and Tatweer would create a company with an asset base of 194 billion dirhams ($52.8 billion) and a debt of 13.4 billion dirhams, or roughly 7% of the total assets. ���The proposed consolidation would create a robust and strategic asset base while joining the strengths��� of the various companies, Emaar said.

The deal, first outlined on Saturday in a release by Emaar, marks a push to shore up a Dubai property market that has seen values plunge by as much as 40% in the first quarter of 2009 as the global economic meltdown hit the sheikdom hard. Layoffs in Dubai���s largely expatriate work force compounded the oversupply of units in the semiautonomous city-state, squeezing prices. The tougher financing climate also led to project delays and cancellations.