A surge in the number of Indian nationals based in the UAE buying property back home has prompted Indiabulls to open its first overseas office in Dubai.
The company, one of India's largest listed property developers, yesterday launched the office, near Karama Metro station, to cater to the growing number of expatriate Indians in the Arabian Gulf looking to capitalise on the falling value of the rupee to buy property.
Indiabulls, which has built 3.3 million square feet of properties over the past four years, said that nearly a third of its business came from Indians living abroad, especially in the Gulf region.
"Non-resident Indians make up 25 to 30 per cent of our overall business, and Gulf NRIs have always been more inclined towards investing in the realty market back home," said Santosh Tandel, the regional head of the new Middle East and North Africa division of Indiabulls. "With an approximate 45 per cent of the UAE's population comprising Indians, the need to have a local office catering to this segment was vital."
And the Dubai office opening is only the first in a planned roll-out across the region for Indiabulls. The company plans to open offices in other GCC states, including Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Bahrain.
The developer recently announced that it had entered into an agreement with Qatar's Doha Bank to offer mortgages to NRIs keen to buy properties on the subcontinent.
