Arab Realty body makes new appointment

The Arab Union for Real Estate Development has appointed Salim Sayegh, chairman of National Paints, as President of its Building Materials Division.

Eighteen countries have recently joined together to form the Arab Union for Real Estate Development, the first ever umbrella organisation for the region's property market.

The announcement was made during a three-day conference on the establishment of the union held recently in Cairo, Egypt, under the patronage of Ahmed El Maghraby, Egyptian Minister of Housing.

The proceedings were headed by Dr Ahmed Goueli, Secretary-General, Council of Arab Economic Unity, and attended by representatives from all Arab countries.

Salim Sayegh, President of Sayegh Group and a Founding Member of the Arab Union for Real Estate Development, said: "This conference marks the first step towards establishing strong co-operation between Arab real estate companies and organisations."

Other regional positions include Sheikh Yousef bin Hatem Al Balushi as president of the regional office of GCC countries; Fehmi Shaaban as president of the regional office of Arab Maghreb; and Adel Lutfi as president of the regional office of East Asia.

The newly-formed Real Estate Union is the first Arab organisation to include 250 members of major real estate companies and banks in the Arab World. It will have an active participation by the Chambers of Commerce Federations of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Syria; the businessmen associations of Morocco, Algeria, Palestine, Yemen, and Iraq; the Kuwait Real Estate Union; and the real estate divisions in Oman and Tunisia.

The real estate market in the Arab region stands at $23 trillion (Dh84trn) and provides employment opportunities for about 4 million Arab nationals. It also contributes 18 per cent of the total Arab economy, value of which reached $1.5 trillion in 2007.

Jess Stoffer, President of the World Conglomerate of International Real Estate Unions, confirmed the approval of the inclusion of the Arab Union in the global group. The attendees agreed on the opening of 17 branches for the Union in Saudi, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Yemen, Oman, Jordan, Iraq, Libya, Egypt, Sudan, Somalia, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, Palestine and Kuwait.

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