Emaar eyes property in US and Europe

Emaar Properties, the largest Arab developer by market value, is seeking opportunities in the United States and Europe where property prices have become "attractive", a newspaper said, citing the chairman.

"A property whose price was $100 in the US, now costs $10 ... and we expect it to become $5," Mohamed Alabbar told Kuwait's Al Qabas daily in an interview, to be published on Sunday, which was made available to Reuters.

The newspaper did not specify what opportunities the Dubai-based company was seeking and a spokesman for Emaar could not immediately comment.

Emaar, which owns US company John Laing Homes, has consultants in the US working on developing low-cost residential units at no more than $12,000 a piece, Alabbar said, according to the paper.

The company also plans to open an office in China in the next 12 months, he added. (Reuters)