Indian and Iranian investors are reportedly leading the way in snapping up luxury apartments and shop spaces in the tallest man-made structure in the world, Dubai’s Burj Khalifa.
Government officials in Dubai have revealed that while more than 128 million dollars from Tehran has already been blown on the 828 meter high Burj Khalifa in the last six months, more money has arrived from Indian investors, who are keen to exploit the 700 dollar to 1,000 dollar per sq ft price, which is up to ten times cheaper than prime London locations.
“Iranian investors have been in Dubai for a long time. They have money here, which can be easily invested. Iranians usually buy property through their company due to sanctions,” the Daily Mail quoted an employee of Oliver Essex, a consultant which specialises in Burj Khalifa property, as saying.
“Iranians have problems getting finance, which is why they are mostly involved in cash buys. We have sold three floors on the Burj, and this involved Iranian buyers,” a Dubai-based real estate broker added.
Dubai, 100 miles across the Gulf, has been a major trading hub for Iran for more than a century, with an estimated 8,000 Iranian traders and trading firms registered in the emirate, the paper said.
The Burj Khalifa boasts the world’s first Armani hotel on the bottom floors, houses 900 Dubai residences, 37 floors of office space, a fine dining restaurant and an observation deck, the paper added.