UAE Home Finance Market To Touch Dh80Bn By 2012

The UAE home finance market is expected to double during the next four years to reach around Dh80 billion by 2012, says Kuwait's Global Investment House. The market is at present worth between Dh35bn and 40bn, equal to five per cent of the UAE's gross domestic product (GDP). "It is well below the levels of developed countries, which reach 50 per cent or more, and those of many developing countries, which range between 10 and 25 per cent," Global says in a report on home finance provider Tamweel. "The UAE housing finance sector is in its infancy. Tamweel and Amlak, both Islamic financial companies, are the leading providers with a collective market share estimated at close to 60 per cent by mortgage value. The remaining market share is held by a number of local and foreign banks." Global estimates that between 60 and 70 per... [read full story]