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.
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.
