Dubai’s Deyaar Development has announced a partnership agreement with the Ascioglu Group in Turkey on a series of projects.
The pair have signed a memorandum of understanding that Deyaar said would bolster its expansion plan across the Middle East.
The Ascioglu Group, based in Istanbul, said the agreement would enable its involvement in Dubai’s real estate and hospitality markets.
The family-owned developer has 48 years of experience in Turkey’s property market, and has built projects such as convention centres, hospitals and large, multi-tower, mixed-use projects in downtown Istanbul.
“Our agreement with Deyaar is a natural fit, as we are two companies with similar objectives, track records and values,” said Yasar Ascioglu, the chairman of the Ascioglu Group.
Saeed Al Qatami, Deyaar’s chief executive, said his company’s partnership with the Turkish firm was part of its global expansion strategy. “Turkey presents appealing investment opportunities as a key destination in the emerging regional market,” he said.
Turkey has experienced a building boom over the past decade, with major infrastructure projects such as the US$11 billion Istanbul New Airport and a new Dh5.6bn bridge crossing the Bosphorus strait. Private-sector real estate development in the country has also been booming.
However, Turkey’s economic growth has slowed to 3.4 per cent last year from 4.6 per cent in 2013. The country’s GDP growth is forecast to drop to 2.9 per cent this year.
Meanwhile, the credit ratings agency Fitch said the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) decision to call a snap election for November – after it failed to secure the parliamentary majority it had expected in elections in June – might cause more uncertainty and threatened to exacerbate Turkey’s challenges. Fitch said a new prolonged election campaign “follows a heavy electoral calendar in 2013-2015 and various political shocks” that included anti-government protests and corruption allegations in 2013 that had contributed to Turkey’s weakening economic performance.
“The recent sell-off in emerging markets currencies, in which the lira hit an all-time low, highlights Turkey’s continuing exposure to shifts in investor sentiment,” said the ratings agency Fitch.
“The previous AKP government had formulated a reform programme, but an extended electoral cycle may reduce opportunities for, and political commitment to, its implementation.”
Yesterday, Turkey’s central bank announced a series of measures meant to protect the economy from the potentially negative impact of an expected rise in US interest rates. For instance, it is forcing commercial lenders to raise the average maturity of their foreign-exchange denominated debt.
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