Dh1.4 billion property deal struck in Ajman

A major property deal – over a billion dirhams - has been struck in Ajman, according to a statement posted on the Plus Stock Exchange in London by one of the parties involved.

Dubai-based Bonyan International Investment Group has sold 67 out of 109 plots in its Dh3.5-billion Eye of Ajman project to Prime Investments International Group Limited.

The information was disclosed by Prime, a Cayman Island-incorporated company, in statements posted on the Plus Stock Exchange in London.

The purchase price of $396 million (Dh1.4bn) for the 67 plots has been settled in full by allotment of shares in Prime, it said.

In one of the statements to the bourse, Prime said Ernst & Young has valued the said plots at approximately $400 million.

“We believe that this asset base, in an emerging market, coupled with the fact that Prime and its assets are unleveraged, make the acquisition very attractive for shareholders of the company,” the company said.

Prime did not respond to questions sent by Emirates 24|7.

The Eye of Ajman is a master planned community development located at the junction of Emirates Road and Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Street in Ajman.

It consists of 109 multi-use plots with a total area of 2,258,197 square feet, according to the Prime statement.

The master development was launched in May 2008 with Bonyan stating then that the plots will be designed to take the shape of a human eye and will house a mosque, hotels, schools, health club, and a clinic amidst a sprawling urban landscape.

In an interview with this website last month, Ajman Real Estate Regulatory Agency (Arra) Executive-Director Yafea Eid Al Faraj said property prices in the emirate had fallen by 20 per cent in 2011 compared to 2010, but prices were likely to stabilise next year.

“We have seen a price correction of 20 per cent from last year. We expect the market to stabilise next year with prices likely to fall by another five per cent.”

Even though Al Faraj had not shared the number of sale transactions being registered with Arra on a daily basis, he said the secondary market had been “quite” active in the emirate over the past few months.

“Resale is happening big time,” he had stated.

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