Dubai, UAE, 4th September 2007 – Hayan Merchant, CEO of real estate, hospitality and tourism investment and development company - Ruwaad, also known for this visionary thinking in the realm of real estate has been invited as a speaker at next week’s Forbes Global CEO Conference to provide insight and thoughts on investments and real estate developments in the Middle East and Africa region. Hayan Merchant, who is also Managing Director of the Dubai 9 Group, will speak alongside leading CEO’s and Presidents who will be representing a range of diverse industries including banking and finance, real estate, energy and technology.
The esteemed annual conference - this year entitled ‘Drivers of Success’ - which invites high level CEO’s and key business leaders from around the globe will this year be held in Singapore, and will act as a forum for senior business decision makers to meet and discuss new challenges going forward in the global economy.
As head of Ruwaad – a company whose mission is to create iconic destinations around the world – Hayan Merchant recently signed on a prominent $2.5 billion dollar deal with US giant - Paramount, in a long-term partnership that will create the region’s first Paramount Pictures-branded multi-purpose destination. The planned development will incorporate boutique hotels and resorts, large themed retail areas, attractions and adjoining lifestyle properties based around the vast Paramount Pictures’ intellectual property library.
The selection and invitation to the conference for representing the Middle East and Africa region is a testament to the young entrepreneur’s astute business acumen and achievements in the UAE’s investment and development sector.
Merchant will be addressing a niche audience of the top decision makers in the world, and his focus will be “Global real estate: the new location for investment”. Merchant will draw on his business knowledge and experience to demonstrate the UAE and the Gulf region as a strategic location for real estate, hospitality and tourism investment and development.
Major global real estate players will join Merchant in the conference including Kwek Leng Beng – Executive Chairman of the USD 20 Billion Empire of the Hong Leong Group; Lawrence Ho, Chairman and CEO of Melco International Development, Hong Kong; and Kushal Pal Singh – Chairman of DLF India – the largest real estate company in India.
“It is an honor to be invited to this influential conference, not just as an ambassador for Ruwaad, but as an ambassador for the Middle East and Africa region as a whole. The opportunity to interact with so many important and accomplished global business leaders and to communicate the strong fundamentals of our regional economies, will help in further creating awareness of the strong investment and business opportunities available in the region,” Hayan Merchant said
As the only delegate invited from the Middle East property sector, Merchant will be discussing what’s behind the trend of investors looking to put their money into bricks and mortar, and which prime geographical locations are worth investors taking a look at - in discussions which are likely to point to the huge potential for development and investment in the Middle East and Africa region.
Merchant, who has an accolade as one of the youngest, most prominent CEO’s in the Gulf region has pioneered and structured a number of strategic partnerships in various industries, in his capacity as Managing Director of the Dubai 9 Group. The Group is a stakeholder and one of three founding members of Enshaa Holdings, a premier property development holding company which is developing, among other destinations, the Palazzo Versace Resort Development in Dubai and the Palazzo Versace Resort on Australia’s Gold Coast through Emirates International Holdings, and Emirates Sunland.
Other key speakers at the event include the Honorable Prime Minister of Malaysia; Michael Spence - the 2001 Nobel laureate in economics; John Mullen - Global CEO of DHL and Sheldon G. Adelson - Chairman of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation.
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Backgrounder
Ruwaad
Ruwaad is a real estate, hospitality, tourism investment and development company and a subsidiary of the Dubai 9 Group. Established in November 2006, Ruwaad’s key objective is to diversify and globalize the Dubai 9 Group’s portfolio of companies into the real estate and hospitality sector.
The company’s real estate developments are initially planned for the UAE and South Africa, with outlines for subsequent expansion into the MENA region and Asia through a combination of sustainable and integrated destination master-planned communities of residential and commercial properties and signature hospitality projects. Ruwaad aims to create distinct product concepts for each individual real estate and development project; ranging from pioneering entertainment parks and commercial premises for diverse business uses, to well-planned and well-designed residential and hospitality neighborhoods. Each development will be characterized by the utilization of a destination, integrated design, strategic location, the use of local and international brands, and sensitivity to the culture and heritage of the local community.
Ruwaad continually seeks to secure business partnerships with leading global brands in the lifestyle, hospitality, and tourism and leisure entertainment industry. In 2007 Ruwaad announced a key partnership with Paramount Pictures from Hollywood (part of Viacom Inc. – one of the largest entertainment corporations in the world) plans to develop a Paramount-themed destination at a development cost of USD 2.5 Billion. The project will comprise of theme parks, movie studios, residences, hotels, resorts and retail areas. Paramount Pictures provides a vast portfolio of intellectual properties, which includes Academy Award winning films such as Titanic, Mission Impossible and Braveheart;
In 2008, Ruwaad has announced Amazulu World, the largest development to be initiated in African history comprising a land size of approximately 16,566 hectares (approximately 170 square kms). Amazulu World will be home to Africa's first world-class internationally branded entertainment theme park, as well as Africa's largest shopping destination, Africa's most comprehensive and advanced sports village development, Africa's largest lifestyle community and Africa's first dedicated education and health village; alongside a number of hotels, resorts and spas, a marina, a variety of residential offerings, community facilities, and nature reserves.
THE TEAM
The Founder and Chairman of Ruwaad is Mr. Hanif Merchant. The Group Chief Executive Officer is Mr. Hayan Merchant. Additionally, a senior team of experienced Ruwaad personnel has been selected to undertake the company's forthcoming projects, alongside a complementary team of consultants that have international, national and local experience.
This senior team’s experience involves leading, developing and managing a number of world-class developments across the globe including:
· UK (Canary Wharf)
· France (Euro Disney Resort)
· United States (1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Disneyworld)
· Australia (Palazzo Versace Resort)
· Hong Kong (SeaWorld/ Ocean Park resort)
· Japan (Disneyland Tokyo)
· Malaysia (Mandarin Oriental Hotel)
· India (Lavassa Township)
· Qatar (Pearl Qatar Island)
· Singapore (Sentosa Resort)
· UAE (Dubai Festival City, Lagoons)
http://www.ruwaad-holdings.com/
Dubai 9 Group
Established in 1971, the Dubai 9 Group was created as an investment company providing intellectual and financial resources to local, regional and international businesses by generating above-market returns for investors. Since its founding, the Dubai 9 Group has expanded to include a number of active companies in diverse industries across the UAE, and has helped to expand the operations of numerous UAE companies into regional and international markets. The Group currently employs over 3000 personnel in 11 different countries. The Chairman and Founder is Mr. Hanif Merchant.
Today, the Dubai 9 Group boasts a diversified business portfolio in the fields of visual communications, property and hospitality, media and advertising, human capital consulting and executive training, consumer electronics and manufacturing. The Group manages investments in the UAE, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, North and East Africa, China, Australia and the UK. Dubai 9 Group’s current portfolio of companies includes:
· Emirates Neon Group (ENG)
· ENG Outdoor
· ENG Signage
· ENG Consultancy
· ENG Digital
· ENG Industries
· ENG Print
· ENG Media
· ENG Brand
· Ruwaad Holdings LLC
· Leading Concepts
· TopTronics
· Paradigmz
The Dubai 9 Group is also a stakeholder and founding member of Enshaa Holdings whose projects, directly and Emirates Sunland, include the Palazzo Versace Resort development in Dubai and the Palazzo Versace Resort on Australia's Gold Coast; in addition to Emirates Financial Towers in Dubai International Financial Centre and Karachi Financial Towers in Pakistan.
Additionally, the Group pursues a clear, strategic mission of attracting internationally recognized brands and creating value through building long-standing alliances and partnerships in various sectors. In the education sector, the Group has the following key alliances:
· Stanford Graduate School of Business
· University of Michigan Business School
· Columbia Business School
· Creative Center for Leadership
http://www.dubai9group.com/
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