Nakheel to hire new CEO soon

Property developer Nakheel is looking to fill the vacant CEO position soon after Chris O’Donnell resigned in June, Emirates 24/7 can reveal.

“We will fill that position soon,” company Chairman Rashid Ali Lootah told Emirates 24/7 following the launch of The Palm Residence on the trunk of Palm Jumeirah.

Currently, Sanjay Manchanda, chief finance officer, is the acting CEO.

“Demand is high and even prices are going up in certain areas such as the Palm, Jumeirah Islands, Arabian Ranches,” Lootah said after launching the new project which comprises 102 beach front town houses.

Aqil Kazim, chief commercial officer, Nakheel, added: “There is demand for a good product with a good location. We are confident that this product will sell… there is further demand beyond this project in Dubai.”

He added: “A lot of interest [in our properties] comes from UAE nationals but we have a largely unchanged demographic from the last three to four years in that there is a lot of interest from the subcontinent as well.”

Craig Plumb, regional head of research for Jones Lang LaSalle, believes the move was certainly at the right time since there were not many new projects being launched in the market.

“This will produce a new product on the Palm, targeting the mid-market. There is a strong demand for villas on the Palm and we have seen that in the past six months. Price, however, will be a critical element,” he added.

Nakheel is in talks with financial institutions for funding and will also use funds from pre-sales to construct the project.

Lootah said delay in listing on Nasdaq Dubai was a nothing more than a procedural matter while he felt that the sukuk was “undervalued” in the market.

The company issued $3.8 billion of Islamic bonds to trade creditors in late August after completing its Dh59-billion debt restructuring. It now plans to issue the final tranche of its $1.63 billion Islamic bond by year-end and also expects to make a profit for the second consecutive year.

Nakheel made a profit of Dh860 million in 2010 against a huge loss of Dh76.6 billion in the previous year. Revenue has also increased from 10 per cent to 15 per cent so far this year due to greater occupancy in residential units and an increase of 20,000, or 70 per cent, in housing units, the Arabic daily Al Khaleej reported last week.

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