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Moscow: The first International Property Show (IPS) of Moscow kicked off here on Sunday, with developers from the UAE comprising about 55 per cent of the exhibition.
"The Moscow region has, in the last few years, participated in many international events and exhibitions. And we know that a short time ago there was a huge event in the UAE," Tigran Karakhov, Minister of Foreign Economic Trade in the Moscow region, said.
Apart from the two countries sharing a deep interest in real estate, they also have similar traffic woes, as visitors and exhibitors drove through early-morning Moscow traffic to the event.
Around 15,000 visitors are expected to come to Moscow's first IPS over the next three days. Around 70,000 visited Cityscape Dubai in October.
Currently, there is about $50 million (Dh183.9 million) worth of trade between the UAE and Russia, a figure that Karakhov says is increasing.
More than 50 countries are taking part in the Moscow IPS, with many UAE developers believing that despite the global credit squeeze, cash is available in Russia.
"We've launched Al Hafiz tower [in Dubai Waterfront] only in Russia because we know the Russians have the money to buy. I think the exhibition will be successful because the economic crunch worldwide has also affected Russia, where the property market is crashing and prices are down 30 per cent in Moscow and St Petersburg. So Russians are looking elsewhere," said Mohammad Khan, managing director, NWC Real Estate.
UAE real estate officials participating in the event include Damac, Azizi Investments, Sobha and Stallion Holdings, with International City, Dubai Waterfront and Mina Al Arab among the projects being showcased.
'Afraid to buy'
"I think people do have the money, but are afraid to buy. But Russians like the UAE because of the weather and so they can invest," Shima Omidvar, investment consultant at Dubai-based Robinson Real Estate, told Gulf News.
Senior UAE officials present here said the future of real estate globally is bright. "I'm proud to see over 50 UAE companies here in Moscow. It's the beginning and I'm sure the future holds more opportunities for joint investment and trade in other fields," Abdullah Saleh, managing director of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade, said.
Already the Moscow region government has big plans for the future. "Next year, the volume of this exhibition will be tripled," Karakhov said.
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