Tuesday, October 07, 2008

Shah Rukh glamor doomed in the Gulf

Shah Rukh Khan or SRK needs to start reading this blog :). Sabbal Seshu and Ashish will get him black money rich clients for his high end gulf properties. Alas Mr SRK you might be a good businessman with Knight Riders and IPL, however this one is destined to end up 'deserted'.

Bollywood Star Hopes Glamour Will Rub Off on Gulf Properties

By Ayesha Daya
Enlarge Image/Details

Oct. 7 (Bloomberg) -- Shah Rukh Khan, the star of Bollywood hits such as ``Om Shanti Om'' and ``Chak De India,'' hopes his glamour will rub off on the real-estate fortunes of a little-known Gulf emirate.

Khan will help Ras Al Khaimah, a rocky outcrop of 168 square kilometers (65 square miles) and 250,000 people, to sell an 8 billion-dirham ($2.2 billion) beachfront development that will include an underwater disco and lounge. He presented the project, called Shah Rukh Khan Boulevard, in Dubai on Oct 5.

``I'm a believer in a place where things grow fast,'' Khan, who has visited Ras Al Khaimah only once, said in an interview after the briefing. Khan, 42, has endorsed products ranging from PepsiCo Inc. soft drinks to Hyundai Motor Co. cars.

Ras Al Khaimah, the most northerly of the seven sheikhdoms in the United Arab Emirates, aims to emulate Dubai, whose booming property market has attracted endorsements from celebrities including Brad Pitt and Boris Becker. The developer, TSA Group, is trying to lure foreign investors including Khan's fans from the Indian diaspora.

As oil and gas reserves dwindle, the emirate hopes tourism will generate independent sources of income and supplement contributions from hydrocarbon-rich Abu Dhabi that provide basic infrastructure, power and public services.

The Shah Rukh Khan Boulevard will be built on the man-made Dana Island that is being developed by the government's real estate unit Rakeen. The Boulevard will comprise townhouses and ten towers spread across an area of 600,000 square feet and is due to be completed in 2012.

Design Ideas

Khan has offered design ideas for the project, such as a glass gate at the entrance and big screens on the beach where people can watch movies, besides the underwater attractions.

``For me, this is the first step to have the freedom to express myself in stone,'' said Khan, who isn't planning any other developments. The Mumbai-based actor will start filming ``My Name is Khan'' on Dec. 15.

Khan said the project won't be hampered by a slump in the local real estate market brought on by the global financial crisis and the prospect of a worldwide recession. ``This is not the first time I'm experiencing recessions,'' the actor said, adding that the project won't be ready for another five years.

In Dubai, Brad Pitt is helping to design an 800-room hotel and resort with Zabeel Properties, while towers have been named after former Wimbledon tennis champion Boris Becker and ex-Formula One driver Michael Schumacher.

Dubai's other projects include a 1-kilometer-tall tower and surrounding developments that will cost about $40 billion, a 300- island project in the shape of continents called The World, and the world's biggest mall.

Dubai Real Estate

Home prices in Dubai, the second-biggest of the country's emirates after Abu Dhabi, are likely to remain little-changed until 2010 after five years of gains, Colliers CRE Plc said in a report Oct. 5. Emaar Properties PJSC, the Middle East's biggest publicly traded real-estate company, lost the most since 2000 on Oct. 5 on concern that the U.S. bank bailout won't prevent the global credit crisis from reaching Dubai.

``There is very little to go on with regards to the fundamentals behind the Ras Al Khaimah market,'' said Robert McKinnon, managing director of equity research at Al Mal Capital PSC. ``But I do expect it would correct along with the rest of the U.A.E.'' if this happens.

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

SRK is all about himself. I don't know why people like him. Bollywood has great versatile actors like Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah etc...This idiot got too much in a short time.

Anonymous said...

This is the height of all stupidity..lets see.

Anonymous said...

Sensex heading towards 10K shortly as predicted by many on this blog earlier. Please check the previous comments by myself and others. Compare this honest prediction with the other prediction by Ashish: "Flat prices on average will continue going up by 12% every year from current levels". Realty stocks now have dropped over 70% in price compared to their price at the beginning of this year. DLF stock price is down by almost 80% as of today from its highs in January. DLF is buying back shares to boost its share price. It has made record profits over the last 3 years from naive buyers who sold all their jewelry, emptied their savings and borrowed from family to put a downpayment on those overpriced 60+L apartments. And then took on a 20+ year loan and are now stuck with making EMIs without fail. Will they have a job next year? Or can they continue to expect 14% increases in their salary that they estimated, in order to purchase those expensive flats?

DLF can use their cash pile to attempt to prop up their stock price, but why is their stock price going down? Stock prices are said to be the market's view of events six months to a year ahead of the current period. What is the market telling us? Much fewer buyers for those overpriced apartments, and hence much lower profits for the likes of DLF?

And Mr. KP Singh, chairman of DLF, is now no longer in the top 20 list of world billionaires after the stock meltdown took his net worth down.

Anonymous said...

Sensex hits an intraday low of 10,765 before recovering to 11,200. Probably some short covering later in the day. But the important thing is that the 11,000 level has been breached. I think it will definitely hit 10,000 soon.

Anonymous said...

Sensex will go down below 10K level by November. I think we should be looking at 8K level by next Jan-Feb.

AFter Sensex, housing is going to be toast very fast. House prices would not take long unlike US or UK prices to go down over a period of 2-3 years but it would be more steep with 30-40% in 6 months.

Anonymous said...

PEOPLE PEOPLE PEOPLE

HARD TIMES ARE COMING. TO AVOID DIFFICULTIES, STRICTLY FOLLOW THE FOLLOWING:

1. DO NOT USE CREDIT CARDS TO BUY THINGS UNLESS YOU HAVE MONEY IN THE ACCOUNT. DO NOT BUY WITH CREDIT CARDS TO SPEND TOMORROW'S INCOME TODAY.

2. DO NOT TAKE ANY BANK OR OTHER LOANS TO BUY DURABLES, CARS, HOUSES ETC. FUTURE IS UNCERTAIN, DO NOT BUY IF YOU DONT HAVE THE MEANS TO BUY TODAY.

3. DO NOT BUY ANY SHARES NOW BECAUSE IT IS A BEAR MARKET. YOU WILL HAVE TO WAIT FOR THREE YEARS TO GET RETURNS OF 10% P.A. YOU MIGH LOSE IN THE MEANTIME.

4. DEFER PURCHASE OF HOUSE EVEN FROM YOUR OWN MONEY AS MARKET IS CRASHING. YOU WILL REPENT PAYING TOO MUCH IF YOU BUY NOW.

5.DO NOT TAKE HOUSING LOAN EVEN IF THE INTEREST GOES DOWN. REMEMBER, YOUR LOAN IS WHAT HELPS THE BUILDERS TO JACK UP PRICES ARTIFICIALLY. SO YOU END UP PAYING HIGHER THAN WHAT YOU SHOULD, SO YOUR INTEREST SAVING IS GONE AND YOU HAVE BORROWED MORE FOR NOTHING.

IF YOUR INCOME GOES DOWN YOU WILL LOSE EVERYTHING IN BE ON THE ROADS.

6. AVOID POSH HOTELS AND RESTAURANTS WHERE YOU ONLY PAY 100% MORE JUST FOR SO CALLED AMBIENCE FOR AN HOUR.

7. DO NOT INDULGE IN GIF CULTURE BY GIVING GIFTS INDSICRIMINATELY. AVOID CELEBRATING FATHER'S, SISTERS, BROTHER'S, LOVER'S, HATER'S, TEACHER'S DAY ETC. THEY ARE ONLY TO FOOL YOU TO SPEND.

8. AVOID MUPLTIPLEXES WHERE YOU PAY MORE FOR NOTHING. GO TO REGULAR THEATRES.

9. TAKE UP JOBS IN YOUR OWN TOWN AS FAR AS POSSIBLE WHERE U HAVE PLACE TO STAY.

Unknown said...

One must be wondering why SRK is involved in a $2.2 venture in the Gulf Emirate. Here is the answer

1. SRK in not going to spend even 1$ on this project. His name is used by the Sheikh and the western contractors in the hope of attracting Indian Investors

2. There is so much publicity about Indian millionaires in western media, the guys behind this project are hoping that the Indians will jump overboard the foolish ship

3. In the event, the project doesn't attract indian investors, it will still go ahead as the RAK sheikh is 100% sure that his colleque, the Abu Dhabi sheikh is going to bail him out.


SRK may earn some cash out of this project and will get a chance to rub his shoulders with the Gulf Royalty


Is this project viable in financial terms. The answer is a big NO. Gulf is a volatile region and the sight of few Iranian armoured patrol vessels entering the territorial waters of UAE is enough to scare the Sheikhs/Investors alike and make them flee the region

Anonymous said...

I think UAE is in a big bubble. There also the RE prices will drop by 50-60% soon. The crude oil has also gone down below $90 pb.

And SRK does anything for money selling from potato chips on TV to anything. I saw his live show once in US, and that idiot took off his shirts and pants and was standing naked just in boxers to impress people. What a loser.

Anonymous said...

'Paisa phenko, Tamasha Dekho' is the motto of SRK, like like any other bollywood actors. As long as his actions bring money, why should he care for what others think of him.
Guys like Om Puri and Naseeruddin Shah advertising real estate is likely to accelerate bursting of the bubble. Therefore these guys are hired for that purpose. However, they may do good in arms/drug advertising for D Company.

Realty Rider said...

Bollywood superstar, Mr. Shah Rukh Khan is entering the property market of UAE with a new role of property developer. He is conceptualizing a series of buildings in the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). His first project is called Shah Rukh Khan Boulevard and is located on the island of Al Dana in Ras Al Khaimah. Covering an area of 1,700 sq km, Ras Al Khaimah is among the five emirates that form the northern emirates of the UAE and lies along the border of Oman. Though Bollywood actors have endorsed real estate projects in the UAE, this is the first time that a celebrity is developing a property himself.For more view- realtydigest.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Nancy!!! (realty rider),

I am leaving this message here for you as I do not know how else i can communicate.

I am a big time investor and interested in investing in Delhi and surrounding areas. Mu budget is about 500 cr. I am impressed by your knowledge and wish you could be my partner. Leave a message and your phone number on this board

Ciao

Anonymous said...

SRK is all fake, he just says i believe in happiness, and smiles etc. I was present in his one of the events and i asked him for a pic which he denied very rudely and just walked off, and the event was not a public event was special private event regarding his launch of the property, where there were only couple of people asking him pic, he is one big hypocrat and people are actually going stupidly mad behind him. the property is designed by some vegas architect : tony,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,??? SRK would be just earning out of this project big time, all locals at uae would go mad behind him and invest in his boulevard for which he promises happiness and smiles,,,,what the ****?