チャールズ皇太子も訪れるドバイ・・・

Prince Charles, Heir to the British throne, accompanied by his wife Camilla Parker Bowles, Duchess of Cornwall, visited Dubai as part of the a regional tour that included visits to Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Abu Dhabi.

During their time in Dubai, they took up a range of engagements reflecting the strength of the relationship between Britain and Dubai.

Their Royal Highnesses visited Bastakiya heritage site.

The Prince of Wales earlier visited the UAE in 1999 followed by his visit in 2004 to attend the funeral of the Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

世界一高いビルを目指すバージュ・ドバイ：１１０階まで完成

Under development since the past three years to reach an unspecified height, Burj Dubai is now the tallest structure in the Middle East and Europe and at 110 levels it shares the honour of having the largest number of floors, alongside Sears Tower in Chicago.

The 380-metre high tower is also the world's ninth tallest building. Burj Dubai is only one metre shorter than the Empire State Building - the second tallest in the US and is on its course to become the world's tallest building.

It is the centerpiece of the US$20-billion Downtown Burj Dubai, a mixed-use project in the heart of Dubai featuring residences, commercial space, hospitality projects and several retail outlets including The Dubai Mall, the world's largest shopping and entertainment destination.

To date, 267,426 cubic metres of reinforced concrete and 49,684 tonnes of reinforcing steel have been used in the construction of Burj Dubai.

Over 3,000 workers are currently employed at the Burj Dubai site. Ten cranes and the world's fastest high-capacity construction hoists are used to move men and material.

Burj Dubai is now taller than Emirates Office Tower (355 metres), which was the tallest building in the region. Burj Dubai is only one metre shorter than the Empire State Building - the second tallest in the US.

Burj Dubai will be a stellar achievement in engineering; the curtain wall of Burj Dubai will be equivalent to 17 football fields; the concrete used will be equivalent to a sidewalk 1,900 km long and the tower's peak electricity demand will be roughly the same as 360,000 light bulbs of 100 watts operating at the same time.

When completed, Burj Dubai will be the tallest building in the world in all four categories recognised by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH), which compiles and ranks the world's tallest buildings. CTBUH ranks buildings on the basis of spire height, the highest occupied floor, roof height and pinnacle height.

Burj Dubai will also mark the advent of a new lifestyle choice for Dubai residents and visitors. It will comprise 1,000 residences, commercial spaces, leisure facilities and The Armani Hotel.

Dubai Government Firm Buys NYC Hotel

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Dubai's government has bolstered its holdings of New York City real estate by purchasing a majority stake in Manhattan's five-star Mandarin Oriental hotel.
The $340 million purchase of the Mandarin Oriental, part of the Time Warner Center on Manhattan's Columbus Circle, adds to the growing U.S. real estate portfolio held by the Arab world's financial powerhouse.
The purchase by Istithmar PJSC, the Dubai government's holding company, was announced Sunday.
Istithmar's New York properties include the W Hotel on Union Square, the Knickerbocker Hotel on Times Square and commercial buildings at 280 Park Avenue, 230 Park Avenue and 450 Lexington Avenue. The firm also owns the Hotel Washington in Washington D.C.
"We're building a portfolio of both luxury and budget hotels in key target markets around the world," said Joe Sita, chief executive of Istithmar's hotels group.
Another Dubai government-held firm, Jumeirah International, owns the Jumeirah Essex House hotel on Manhattan's Central Park South.
Istithmar said in a prepared release it bought a 73 per cent share of the Mandarin Oriental, buying 25 per cent from Mandarin Oriental Hotel Group and 48 per cent from a joint venture between New York-based developers Apollo Real Estate Advisors LP and Related Cos.
Istithmar already holds 2.4 percent of Time Warner shares and options.
Dubai, one of seven city-states that form the U.S.-allied United Arab Emirates, has grown into a global financial capital despite its lack of petroleum reserves. Dubai has instead lured energy revenues from neighboring states through liberal investment and residency laws, booming financial and real estate sectors, and the Mideast's largest port and airport.
Istithmar is a sister company to the Dubai government-owned DP World, one of the world's largest ports operators. DP World's purchase last year of operations in six U.S. ports touched off a political firestorm in Congress, which later cited security reasons for voting to force the Dubai company to sell its U.S. holdings.
The imbroglio damaged relations between Washington and the Emirates, where many said U.S. opposition to the deal smacked of anti-Arab bias.
American International Group Inc., an insurance conglomerate, received approval last month from federal antitrust authorities to complete its purchase of the ports.
Last July, Istithmar paid $300 million for New York-based specialty retailer Loehmann's Inc. Istithmar said it planned to increase the number of Loehmann's stores to 100 from 60 over the next five years and open a flagship on Manhattan's Upper West Side.
Elsewhere, Istithmar bought a $1 billion stake in London-based bank Standard Chartered Plc and acquired London's Adelphi building for $567 million.
Istithmar Hotels, founded less than a year ago, has already amassed a $3 billion portfolio of hotels and resorts. Besides those mentioned, it holds a portion of Kerzner Group, the developer and operator of Atlantis Resorts and luxury resort One and Only; as well as the franchise for budget hotel chain easyHotels in the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia.
Jumeirah's other properties include a pair of luxury hotels in London, the Jumeirah Carlton Tower and the Jumeirah Lowndes Hotel. Jumeirah is building a luxury resort in Bermuda as well as hotels and resorts in China, Thailand and the Middle East.

Dubai-India Venture Bids for Singapore Retailer RSH05/03/2007

DUBAI (Reuters) - A joint venture of Dubai-based Emaar Properties and India's MGF Group offered to buy 76.08 percent of Singapore retailer RSH Ltd. on Sunday at S$1.05 per share.
The bid values RSH, the rest of which is owned by Mohamed Ali Alabbar, chairman of both Emaar and RSH, at S$370 million ($242.5 million), the two companies said in a statement.
Emaar, the largest Arab property developer by market value, and MGF aim to buy the majority stake through their joint venture Golden Ace Pte Ltd., they said.
RSH shares last traded on Feb. 28 at S$1.2, after rallying 26.3 percent in two trading days.
Alabbar who has opted not to accept the offer in respect of his shares, the statement said.
RSH has 430 stores in 12 countries selling sporting goods and fashion products. It has exclusive retailing rights to European brands, including Zara and Massimo Dutti, in several markets.
"The economies of India, Middle East and Southeast Asia are booming, and in line with the economic growth, the retail sector presents substantial growth opportunities," Emaar Vice-Chairman Hussain al-Qemzi said in the statement.
Emaar, which bought U.S. homebuilder John Laing Homes for $1.05 billion in June, is diversifying into shopping malls, hotels, health care and education. Outside Dubai, the company has projects worth more than $60 billion in 14 countries.
Emaar owns 30 percent of Golden Ace through a unit of a wholly owned subsidiary. MGF, with businesses from auto dealerships to real estate, holds 70 percent of Golden Ace through a wholly owned subsidiary.
Golden Ace will submit its offer in the next three weeks, the companies said.
DBS Bank Ltd. is the deal's financial adviser.