Atif Rahman

CBNME’S Power Hour Annual List of the Middle East’s Top 60 features the most prominent Contractors, Real estate Developers, Consultants, Architects, Facilities Management, Asset Management Companies, and so much more that encapsulates the construction industry.

These influential leaders have reshaped the industry with their introduction of new innovative strategies and thought leadership that makes them stand apart in 2020.

You can check out the full coverage of the Power Hour here.

Atif Rahman is an Entrepreneur in the UAE since 2004. He is the Director and Partner at Danube Properties, which he started with Rizwan Sajan in 2014 in Dubai, UAE. Danube Properties, the development arm of Danube Group, has achieved unprecedented success and growth through record-breaking sales, timely project delivery, and immense consumer support under Atif Rahman’s guidance and leadership. With a global footprint of operational sales forces in India, China, Oman, and KSA, Danube Properties has an ever-growing portfolio of over 4.5 billion AED in developed properties.

In the past 12 months, Danube Properties has successfully completed their Starz and Resortz Projects. Atif points out that the company is eyeing on delivering more projects before looking into any projects. “We will only think of launching the next one once we have sold out the current project and commenced the construction. We have launched projects at some of the toughest times throughout our lifecycle and recorded sales success,” said Atif.

An ardent lover of contemporary design, sustainable construction and value engineering, his projects demonstrate value for money in every Sq. Ft. One of his latest and unique property concepts help people maximize the living space by use of innovative design and furnishing. His projects also come with ultra-modern amenities, creating a unique sense of community living. The success of which can be seen in record breaking sales of close to 4,400 residential units incorporating this concept.

Danube Properties, the UAE-based real estate developer, has announced the launch of Olivz, a master-planned cluster of buildings offering 741 residential units and a number of retail and recreational facilities with a development value exceeding 400 million dirhams ($108.9 million).
The project will be developed in Al-Warsan First area close to the International City and Dragon Mart with easy access to Mohammed bin Zayed Road. The affordable homes come with Danube Properties’ 1 percent payment plan that aims to help middle income tenants and end-users to easily acquire their dream homes.
The announcement was made at a press conference addressed by Rizwan Sajan, founder and chairman of Danube Group, and Atif Rahman, director and partner of Danube Properties.
This marks the first real estate project launch of 2020 in the UAE and reflects Danube Properties’ confidence in the market that is witnessing a slow upturn as the countdown to the World Expo 2020 — that is expected to drive the demand for new homes — gains momentum.
With Olivz, Danube Properties’ development portfolio grows to 6,194 units, with a combined development value exceeding 4.5 billion dirhams. It has so far delivered about 2,155 units, with a combined sales value of 2.1 billion dirhams — or nearly half of its portfolio value.
“The launch of Olivz reflects our growing confidence in Dubai’s real estate market, which never ceases to amaze investors. The launch is timed well to meet the needs of the growing number of end-users who are now more confident to buy their dream homes,” said Sajan.

The UAE- based affordable housing pioneer and one of the most dynamic & popular private real estate developers in the UAE, today launched its operation in the south Indian state of Kerala by opening its sales and marketing office in Kochi. Present on the occasion was Mr Rizwan Sajan, Founder and chairman of Danube Group, Atif Rahman, Director and Partner of Danube Properties, Bollywood sizzling beauty Sunny Leone along with other senior management of the company.

This is the developer’s third marketing and sales office in India – after it launched operations in Mumbai in 2016 and Delhi in 2017. The inauguration ceremony was attended by prominent officials, business leaders as well as celebrities – led by Bollywood sensation Sunny Leone.

India is one of the UAE’s strongest economic partners with huge investments from both countries. In 2018, Indian investors have accumulated 31 Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) projects launched in Dubai with a total of Dh3.71 billion in capital. This makes India the second largest investor in Dubai in terms of FDI capital and the fourth largest in terms of projects during the first nine months of the year.

“Indian nationals – including the Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) living in the Gulf countries – are a major source of investment in to Dubai’s real estate. Their growing purchasing power is helping developers to sell properties and complete projects and that the reason of the launch of our sales and marketing office in Kochi. We definitely want to come closer to our target audience and provide the best assured deal” Rizwan Sajan, Founder and Chairman of Danube Group, says.

He further added, “UAE is absolutely a good place for real estate investment. And with developers like us are coming up with many lucrative scheme and timely delivery of the projects. Trust me your money is definitely in safe hands. We at Danube Properties offer up to 15 percent return on investment. As a developer we not only deliver good homes for the end-users but also provide the highest rental yield for the investors.”

Atif Rahman, Director and Partner of Danube Properties, says, “We have a well-balanced portfolio of property buyers from 93 nationalities. A large number of our buyers come from outside the UAE – including China, India, Europe and Africa. A large number of families from Kerala live in the UAE and the Gulf countries. Their presence has over the decades, strengthened the bond between the two countries.”

He further added “Our office and our people will help develop a strong network with investors from Kerala and help them own their second home in the UAE through Danube Properties. In-fact according to a statistic compiled by the Dubai Land Department (DLD), Indian nationals, who form the largest foreign investor group in Dubai’s real estate, bought properties worth Dh94.45 billion in the last 6 years – from 2013 to 2018 – in Dubai’s property sector. We offer a platform for safe investment with excellent quality and commitment to deliver our projects faster than anyone else. Since all our projects are at attractive location with modern design and Supreme quality of finish, they offer high capital appreciation. Dubai offers one of the finest infrastructures with several global attractions, these are reasons enough to make it one of the best real estate investment opportunity. It is our firm view that investment in to Dubai’s real estate from India will continue to grow.”

The opening of office in Kochi comes two weeks after Danube Properties launched Wavez Residence – its latest project in Liwan, Dubai. Like every Danube project, this has been selling out fast amongst the end users and investors alike.

Sunny Leone says, “It’s a pleasure to be part of this prestigious event of Danube Properties. Danube is an extremely popular & reputed Brand with 25 Years of Trust and clean track record in Dubai. Middle-East and specially UAE is the second home for people of Kerala. Danube’s investment opportunities will add value to that relationship and will make it easy to invest in Dubai without having to travel there.”

The Covid-19 pandemic has undoubtedly shaken nearly every facet of our lives including the way we live and work. It’s been a year of immense change and yet there have been individuals and businesses who have persevered in the face of this adversity and come out on top.

To recognise and celebrate these individuals and companies, Gulf Business will be hosting its Gulf Business Awards 2020 virtually on Thursday, November 26, at 3pm.

At the virtual awards, you will recognise familiar categories such as the Energy Company of the Year and the Retail Company of the Year. However, you will also notice an all-new category of industry awards under Technology, which will recognise companies which have excelled in Consumer Tech, Emerging Tech and Digital Transformation.

Also for the first time, we will be delivering a Sustainability Company of the Year award, to acknowledge those who have put the environment and adoption of green technologies at the heart of their business model.

With disruption being the norm this year, it was an organic decision to include a Disruptor of the Year category.

In addition to companies, the individual excellence awards will include categories such as the Businesswoman Leader of the Year, as well as leaders within the tourism, retail and logistics sectors, among others.

A very special addition to this year’s awards is the Covid-19 Heroes category – one that has seen so many inspiring initiatives to counter the economic, social and health pandemic which has gripped us over the last few months.

Some of the top awards of this year’s awards will be the SME of the Year, the Gulf Business Leader of the Year, the Gulf Business Company of the Year and perhaps the most coveted of them all – Gulf Business Lifetime Achievement Award. It’s an award whose past winners have included H.E. Sheikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, H.H. Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al Maktoum, H.E. Easa Saleh Al Gurg and H.E. Mohamed Alabbar, among others.

Below is the list of nominees across all the categories of the award.

To watch the awards presentation live on Thursday, November 26, at 3pm, click here.

Banking Company of the Year

• Emirates NBD
• First Abu Dhabi Bank
• Mashreq Bank
• National Commercial Bank
• RAKBank

Investment Company of the Year
• Century Financial
• Al Mal Capital
• Shuaa Capital
• Alpen Capital
• Berkeley Assets

Energy Company of the Year
• Saudi Aramco
• ACWA Power
• ENEC
• Masdar
• GE Power

Healthcare Company of the Year
• Aster DM Healthcare
• Mediclinic Middle East
• Thumbay Group
• Abu Dhabi Health Services Company (SEHA)
• VPS Healthcare

Real estate Company of the Year
• Aldar
• NEOM
• Danube Properties
• Nakheel
• Seven Tides

Retail Company of the Year
• Majid Al Futtaim
• Souq/Amazon
• Noon.com
• Ahmed Seddiqi & Sons
• Spinneys

Transport and logistics company of the Year
• UAE Space Agency
• RTA
• Air Arabia Abu Dhabi
• Emirates SkyCargo
• Etihad Rail

Tourism and hospitality company of the year
• Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing
• Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAK TDA)
• Accor
• Rove Hotels
• Radisson Hotels

Consumer Tech company of the year
• OPPO
• Samsung
• HP
• Huawei
• Lenovo

Emerging Tech company of the year
• G42
• China Terminus
• Dubai Future Labs
• Mohammed bin Zayed University of AI
• Micro Focus

Company of the year: Digital Transformation
• Huawei Enterprise Solutions
• Injazat Data Systems
• Orange Business Services
• Evoteq
• Datamena

Banking Business Leader of the Year
• Shayne Nelson, CEO, Emirates NBD
• Andre Sayegh, CEO, First Abu Dhabi Bank
• Dr. Adnan Chilwan, CEO, Dubai Islamic Bank
• Lubna Olayan, Chairperson, Saudi British Bank (SABB)
• His Excellency Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair, Chairman of Mashreq

Energy Business Leader of the Year
• Amin Nasser, President and CEO, Saudi Aramco
• Saif Humaid Al Falasi, CEO, ENOC
• Mohamed Al Hammadi, CEO, Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation
• Mohamed Jameel Al Ramahi, CEO, Masdar
• Jasim Husain Thabet, CEO and MD, TAQA

Healthcare Business Leader of the Year
• David Hadley, CEO, Mediclinic Middle East
• Dr. Thumbay Moideen, Founder and president, Thumbay Group
• Dr Azad Moopen, Founder, chairman and managing director, Aster DM Healthcare
• Dr. Shamsheer Vayalil, Chairman and managing director, VPS Healthcare
• Dr. Rakesh Suri, CEO, Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi

Real Estate Business Leader of the Year
• H.E. Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar
• Farhad Azizi, CEO, Azizi
• Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Chairman, Arada
• Arif Mubarak, CEO, Dubai Asset Management
• Atif Rahman, Director and partner, Danube Properties

Retail Business Leader of the Year
• Yusuff Ali MA, Chairman and managing director, LuLu Group
• Alain Bejjani, CEO, Majid Al Futtaim Group
• Ronaldo Mouchawar, Co-founder of Souq and vice president, Amazon MENA
• Mohamed Alabbar, Founder, Noon.com
• Rajiv Warrier, CEO – GCC, Choithrams

Transport and logistics Business Leader of the Year
• Bashar Obeid, CEO, Aramex
• Dr Mohammed Nasser Al Ahbabi, Director general, UAE Space Agency
• Mudassir Sheikha, CEO and co-founder, Careem
• Ahmed Al Mutawa, CEO, Abu Dhabi Terminals
• Jay Walder, CEO, Virgin Hyperloop

Tourism and Hospitality Leader of the Year
• Issam Kazim, CEO, DCTCM
• H.E. Mohamed Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman, Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi
• Amr AlMadani, CEO, Royal Commission for AlUla
• Guy Hutchinson, CEO and president, Rotana
• Kevork Deldelian, CEO, Middle East and Africa, Millennium Hotels and Resorts

Technology Business Leader of the year
• Samer Abu Ltaif, President, Microsoft Middle East and Africa
• Takreem El- Tohamy, General manager, IBM Middle East and Africa
• Leopoldo Boado, Senior vice president of Business Applications for Eastern and Central Europe and MEA, Oracle
• Mohammed Amin, Senior vice president, Middle East, Russia, Africa and Turkey, Dell Technologies
• Reem Asaad, Vice president, Middle East and Africa, Cisco

Sustainability company of the year
• Majid Al Futtaim – For its plans to phase-out single-use plastics across its operations by 2025
• Etihad Airways – For introducing the ‘Greenliner’ and committing to a minimum target of zero net carbon emissions by 2050
• The Abu Dhabi Department of Energy and Abu Dhabi Global Market – For their green bond accelerator initiative and green bonds strategy
• ACCIONA – For creating the “most energy-efficient electric car in the world”, which also participated in the Saudi Dakar rally
• Careem Bike – For introducing a cleaner public transport option

Disruptor of the Year
• Rain –the first cryptocurrency platform to have received a regulatory licence in the region
• Anglo-Gulf Trade Bank – a fully digital corporate trade bank
• Cafu – the region’s first on-demand fuel delivery app
• Pure Harvest Smart Farms – a sustainable agriculture business focused on the production of greenhouse fruits and vegetables
• Okadoc – a Dubai healthtech firm that offers instant doctor appointments online

Businesswoman of the Year Award
• Sarah Al-Suhaimi, Chairperson of Tadawul
• Amna Al Owais, Chief registrar, DIFC Courts
• Nayla Al Khaja, CEO, Nayla Al Khaja Films
• Alyazia Al Kuwaiti, Executive director, Upstream and Integrated sectors, Mubadala Investment Company
• Hind Abdul Hamied Seddiqi, Director general, Dubai Watch Week and Chief marketing and communications officer, Seddiqi Holding

Covid-19 Heroes award
• Ma’an, for its ‘Together we are good’ campaign
• Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Global Initiatives, for its 10 million meals campaign and its World’s Tallest Donation Box initiative
• Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation for Education, for the Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair Covid-19 Online Learning Fund for Refugee Education
• Alwaleed Philanthropies for pledging $30m to fight Covid-19

Millions of Indians call one of the six Gulf countries home. Some have established prominent global conglomerates in the region, while others have migrated here to lead international companies. The GCC has also attracted Indians who are keen to tap into its booming startup ecosystem, while second-generation business leaders have now established strong roots in the region. Lauding the achievements of this diverse diaspora, we reveal the influential business tycoons, executives and entrepreneurs who have helped shape the GCC’s economic landscape.

Rich List

Wealth isn’t everything, but it’s hard to ignore the financial clout of these business figures. Along with being the wealthiest Indians in the Gulf, these individuals are also among the most philanthropic*.

Legends

The company founders and veteran business leaders who have had an unquestionable impact on the Gulf’s economic and social landscape in recent decades

Danube Properties has awarded a Dh149.5 million contract to Cast Construction LLC for the main construction works of Jewelz.

The Dh300 million Jewelz project offers 463 residential units, ranging from studio, one and two-bedroom apartments.

Prior to this Danube Properties delivered 831 residential units worth Dh1.12 billion including 171 townhouses within Dreamz project worth Dh500 million by March 2018

The amenities include a fully equipped health club, swimming pool, steam and sauna room, multi-purpose hall, jogging track, barbecue deck, badminton court, paddle tennis court and a high tech surveillance system for the protection and security of the residents.

Atif Rahman, Director and Partner of Danube Properties, said, “The latest construction contract raises our construction contract value to Dh1.4 billion across ten projects. As a developer, our key objective is to deliver projects on time and with supreme quality and in most cases we have been successful in delivering deliver better than promised value in our real estate projects.”

Yusra Saleh Al Yafei-Managing Director of Cast Construction LLC, said: “I would like to extend my warm regards to Mr. Atif Rahman Director & Partner of Danube Properties for considering and selecting Cast Construction LLC. Cast Construction LLC has a proven track record of embarking and successfully accomplishing construction projects over the last 2 decades.”

The project, launched in March 2018, is scheduled for delivery in Q1 2020.

UAE developer Danube Properties has announced its tenth housing project. Costing $81 million Jewelz and located close to the adjacent Miracle Garden at Arjan in Dubai, Danube Properties described it as an affordable luxury development at its unveiling by Rizwan Sajan, chairman of the Danube Group and Atif Rahman, director and partner, Danube Properties Development.

Jewelz offers 463 residential units, ranging from studio, one and two-bedroom apartments. The accompanying release describes the project as “attractively located” on a plot adjacent to the Miracle garden at Arjan with a private entrance leading to the property.

“The building design and architectural aesthetic was created to reinforce the design strategy of Danube, which helps maximize the living space while delivering convenience of community living. The project dedicates 50% space to open areas with an emphasis on greenery and landscapes,” said Danube Properties.

“I am extremely proud to announce our 10th project Jewelz next to Miracle Garden at Arjan,” said Sajan. “This project is launched with a refined customer in mind, offering luxury living at an affordable price and 15% returns on your total investment along with our benchmark 1 percent monthly payment plan. We have ensured the best value is offered in terms of price, facilities and services etc. The project reflects our continued commitment and confidence in the market and ultimately our endeavor to create a better quality of life for our customers.”

According to Sajan, the real estate market in Dubai is a lucrative and transparent market when it comes to investment.

“You will get the highest return on investment, high capital appreciation, and ease in doing business and strong economic growth,” he commented. “In addition to, low property prices, excellent rental yields, investor-friendly payment plans and the best cosmopolitan atmosphere. The current property prices are in favour of those who want to buy their own home. It is cheaper for a person to buy a property in Dubai than to rent one, especially if they are planning to settle in the country long term”.

Rahman added: “I am pleased to launch our latest project today. This takes our portfolio to AED 3.14 Billion reinforcing our presence in the industry. I reiterate that as company we have remained focused on two things “what we deliver” and “when we deliver” with detailed attention to the process more than the result. I want to assure everyone that as a builder we go beyond the top line or the margins we make and we are driven by the Customer satisfaction.

“There has been continued increase in interest from people looking to invest in affordable home and we promise to offer the best in its class asset in this segment. We carefully design our projects to meet end-users needs and deliver a community lifestyle, evidence of which can be seen at our recently delivered projects. I also want to highlight that alongside the brand credibility, excellent location & design at extremely competitive prices, Danube Properties empowers its Customer by offering a convenient payment plan which helps them build their home.”