Indians top foreign investors list in Dubai

Indians have topped the list of foreign investors in real estate in Dubai, pumping in $1.6 billion during the first quarter of 2014, according to a government agency.

According to Dubai Land Department (DLD), 111 nationalities secured property deals in the first quarter of 2014.

Indians were at the top spot for international investment, both in terms of the number of investors (2,414) and the amount of expenditure ($1.6 billion or 5.895 billion dirhams), according to the data.

British ranked the second, making 3.145 billion dirhams worth of investments, followed by Pakistanis with investments totalling 2.410 billion dirhams.

Emiratis were ranked as the highest among all investors in terms of the value of investments, said Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, director general of DLD.

"Diverse array of nationalities putting their money into Dubai's property sector confirms the city's attraction for real estate investment, especially when compared to other property markets in the region," he said.

According to DLD, real estate sector's investments totalled $9.5 billion during the first quarter of 2014, which represents a 57% increase over the same period last year.

"The increase in the value of transactions and the number of investors in the first three months of this year over the same period last year is something that can be attributed to Dubai's promising economic outlook, the maturation of its investment environment, its strong infrastructure and its transparent legislation," said Mejren.

The Real Estate Sector Development Department, which tracks DLD's property transaction activities, showed that 9,602 international investors from outside the Arab world were responsible for property transactions worth over $5.44 billion (20 billion dirhams) in Q1 of 2014.