Showing posts with label Dubai. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dubai. Show all posts

Saturday, July 18, 2020

Is business in Dubai inching back?


This morning we drop by at Dubai Mall for breakfast. In fact we wanted to hang out at Jones The Grocer while Paul's was another option. In the end the waiting time at both establishments clinched the deal. The wait at Jones The Grocer was expected to be about 30 mins, while the wait at Paul's was about 10 mins. 

Waiting time at this time of the year? The place was buzzing. It took a little longer than the estimated 10 mins to be seated at Paul's. While I am sure the waiting time is not a very strong lead indicator that an economist uses, it is an important marker. So this begs a question.

Is Dubai business inching back to normalcy? Or is this just an exceptional flash in the pan? What do you think?












Tuesday, July 14, 2020

Hello Tourists

Dubai is finally open and welcomes it's first tourists.

Welcome to Dubai!!!




Monday, April 13, 2020

Dubai Sunrise


Shot this a few weeks ago as we took a trip down the water at Dubai Marina. 


Tuesday, May 29, 2018

Hassan Abbas Sharbatly Masjid

Constructed in 2018, this is a new addition to the Motor City neighborhood.   

For directions to the location click here








To visit Al Rustmani Masjid, click here

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

Time to prepay that mortgage?


As EIBOR rates continue to gallop northwards, is it time to consider early settlement or partial settlement of the outstanding mortgage loan?

Over the last decade, the property market in Dubai has provided its residents a very interesting investment opportunity. Property has been one of the most interesting investments in recent years and many residents have profited from it. While many of the larger investors have taken the cash route, a large percentage of current investors have taken the mortgage route to ownership. Hence as we come to the end of the low interest rate regime and we anticipate a sharp increase over the next few year, it is important to review the possible scenarios that mortgage holders face at this time.
Before we get into the possible scenarios and options facing the investors, let us first look at the interest rates over the last few years and quarters. A key benchmark in the country remains EIBOR or the Emirates Inter Bank Offered Rate and many of the mortgage loans are linked to this key reference rate. The EIBOR itself is a daily reference rate published by UAE Central Bank based on the average interest rates at which UAE banks offer to lend to other banks in UAE. So how has the EIBOR changed over the last few periods? For the sake of comparison, we have looked at EIBOR over the last 3 years from the period January 2015 to Mar 2018.






You will note that relatively slow rate of change since 2015 until the last quarter of 2017. Since the last quarter of 2017 you will also note the sharp increase in the rate moving from 1.56% to 2.30% within a period of 6 months. This trend is expected to continue as US Fed Reserve continues to suck out money and trim down its balance sheet with at least 2 more rate hikes expected this year.

Looking forward into the future, what could be the possible options available to the mortgage holder in UAE? Every individual’s situation and circumstances are very unique and hence the final decision needs to be carefully thought through based on your own risks and opportunities.  This blog does not in any way make any recommendations but only presents a few possible options available.

The first and foremost consideration for any individual needs to be setting aside emergency funds. Have you set aside the required funds aside for the possible extreme emergency like situation? It would be important to set aside at least funds to cover your day to day living for a period of 6 months. This includes your rent, car loan, utilities, school fees, grocery bills etc. Only once you have set aside emergency funds should you consider any scenario related to prepayment of your mortgage.

Most experts would advise you to never prepay your mortgage given that it is possibly the cheapest loan you have in your portfolio. This holds completely true so long as the excess funds can be deployed into more profitable investments. If possible avenues for investment and expected returns exceed the cost of loans, it would be prudent to deploy the funds into other investments like equity or equity related funds. As an example, if the cost of your loan is 4% and potential returns from investments is say 5%, it would be good to continue with your investment plans subject to cost of your loan remaining the same over a reasonable period. If the return on other investments and cost of your loan (after assuming any increase in costs of loan over the near future) are the same or if the return on investment is lower than the cost of finance, it would be worthwhile to prepay your outstanding loans. Based on the fact that we seem to be at the latter part of a business expansion cycle, it would be worthwhile to factor potential investment risks in the future.  
If you have excess funds available and do not see interesting investment opportunities in the near future, you may consider using part of the funds to prepay an outstanding loan. Remember excess funds refers to all funds after the emergency fund has been set aside. Once needs to calculate all costs and benefits based on your own unique situation. However I have made assumptions to illustrate the situation below.

Assumptions:
  • Current Outstanding loan: AED 700,000
  • Cost of finance: 4.75% with a potential increase to up to 5.25% over next 12 months
  • Remaining tenure of loan: 7 years
  • Hence the EMI is approx. AED 9,812/-


Based on the above, the total payout amounts to AED 824,184/-. This includes a payment of finance cost of AED 124,184/-.

Assuming that you have AED 200,000/- unutilized ‘excess’ funds in your account and assuming that you have ticked off all potential investment opportunities, what is the potential impact in case you consider repaying part of the outstanding loan amount? If you decide to make a prepayment of AED 200,000/- and the EMI remains the same, there is a potential saving in finance cost of approximately AED 64,740/- as compared to the current cost of AED 124,184/-. For details refer to the table below.




Total savings on making a prepayment of AED 200,000 amount to AED 64,670/- while also reducing the tenure from 84 months to around 57 months.
As mentioned previously, each individual’s situation is unique and any decision related to prepayment needs to be taken by you based on your unique situation. In my case, I see merits in making a prepayment as I have unutilized funds in my bank which can better utilized by making a partial payment of my outstanding mortgage?

How does this compare to your situation? What are your thoughts on this strategy? Leave your comments below.

This post is in no way intended to be advice to any individual. Each reader needs to analyse his or her unique situation and take the most appropriate decision that suits him or her. 

Monday, September 18, 2017

Calculate your gratuity

This is only a broad guideline and does not represent the UAE law. Please refer to the concerned authorities and your lawyer for accurate information. 

Calculating your end of service gratuity is something that comes up very frequently in conversation between Dubai residents? And why not? It is extremely important to be aware of the rules for calculation of gratuity so that one can clearly manage one's financial plans and also be up to speed in case the situation arises. 

The starting point is the type of contract one has with his or her employer. There are 2 types of contracts and yours will fall into one of the types. Either an unlimited contract or a contract for a limited time. Before we get into the details of gratuity let us first differentiate between the 2 types of contracts. 

A limited contract is one where both parties have agreed that the contract for employment is for a set number of years with a start and end date. In this case, the employee is not allowed to resign prior to the end of the contract. An unlimited contract as the name suggests is for an unlimited number of years and therefore has no end date. 






An employee is eligible for end of service gratuity after completing a minimum term of 1 year with the employer. The below applies to onshore companies only. Free zones may follow their own set of rules. 

Gratuity in case of a limited contract

Service between 1 and 5 years
Gratuity is calculated at 21 days basic salary multiplied by number of years in employment
Service between 3 and 5 years
Gratuity is calculated at 30 days of basic salary multiplied by number of years in employment


Gratuity in case of an unlimited contract

Service between 1 and 3 years
Gratuity is calculated at one third of 21 days basic salary multiplied by number of years in employment
Service between 3 and 5 years
Gratuity is calculated at two thirds of basic salary multiplied by number of years in employment
Service beyond 5 years
Gratuity is calculated at full 21 days of basic salary multiplied by number of years for the first 5 years. thereafter gratuity is calculated at full 30 days of basic salary multiplied by number of years in service for the years after the first 5 years. 

Saturday, November 21, 2015

Dubai Motor Village

Event : Dubai Motor Village / Grand Parade
Date: 21st Nov 2015
Location: Meydan Racecourse, Nad Al Sheba



You may think that this event is for the motorheads. It is! But you'd be surprised to see how much fun the entire family can have at the Motor Village and Grand Parade!!



Located at the Meydan Racecourse, the Motor Village is a treat for the young and old. With a live band belting off your favourites, there were tons of activities for everybody. An exhibition of the world's best cars, face painting for kids, car simulators for youngsters and car companies demonstrating their best, the Motor Village is where the entire family can have loads of fun. 



The finale of course is the Grand Parade that starts at the Motor Village and winds it's way through the city. The parade was flagged off by Dr. Mohammed Bin Sulayem, by far UAE's biggest ambassador of motor sport. 



Here are a few pictures from the fun event. Click on the individual pictures to see larger sizes. 




The lively band



The fun drummers

The colorful artists

























Wednesday, September 24, 2014

A Passport to the world?


It's been a long time since I've really felt excited about Blackberry's new launches. My love affair may have fallen apart after a short brief relationship with the then new Blackberry Bold. But I guess the new launch of Blackberry Passport may finally get me interested. 


Blackberry's Senior Vice President for Marketing, Mark Wilson was in town today to launch the new Blackberry Passport at Armani Ballroom at the Burj Khalifa. Dubai was one of the 3 cities across the world which were part of the global launch.




Let me set the record straight. I have never published a post about a commercial product on Dubai Photo Story. It's always been about bringing Dubai to the world in the form of pictures. It could well have been the new IPhone 6. Or Samsung's newest gizmo. But there is a strong reason for having finally broken my own rule today.



The Blackberry Passport is not your new bright mobile handset that's going to impress the girls. Its something a lot more serious. Serious technology. Serious productivity. Serious work.

The first thing that strikes you is the very odd square 1440 x 1440 high resolution HD screen. The square screen lets you read a lot more than most mobile handsets. It's wide screen gives you a real laptop experience unlike the long rectangle screen where one needs to keep scrolling from one side to the other. 

But what brings out it's pedigree is the true Blackberry keyboard that also works as a scroll pad. Besides all the good things Blackberry keyboards are known for, this one lets you scroll up and down the screen. Want to scroll to the bottom of the page? Just swipe your finger downwards on the keyboard. Want to delete the last few words you typed? you can swipe the finger sideways on the keyboard. But what I did find annoying about it is that its now limited to 3 rows only. But then again, its an intelligent keyboard with a fourth virtual row of keys at the bottom of the screen. The device seemed quite intelligent to predict what I was going to type and generated additional keys on the virtual row. Serious productivity. 

Another big win is that one can download all the apps from Amazon's Appstore. This is an area that has always been a sore point for Blackberry users in the region. But now the Passport comes with a pre loaded Amazon Appstore to download all your favourite apps. 

I guess that best new thing blackberry brings to the table is Blackberry Blend. With blend one can seamlessly access content from your Blackberry Passport on any other device including Windows PC or and Android tablet. Its almost like using your Passport on your laptop or tablet without ever being disconnected from your mobile device. 

The build quality is phenomenal. This is probably the best build quality that Blackberry has brought to the market in a long time. 

I've been waiting a while to get a new smartphone. Its a busy time with some big launches jostling for mind space and big brands fighting to get the consumers' attention. I think Blackberry has managed to get mine.




Tuesday, July 29, 2014

Al Tayer Mosque

Al Tayer Mosque is located at Umm Suquem 1 and can accommodate approximately 280 people. 






Sunday, July 27, 2014

Al Gargash Mosque, Jumeirah

Located off Al Wasl Road in Jumeirah, Gargah Mosque is another of the most beautiful mosques of Dubai. The mosque is located in the vicinity of Kings School Jumeirah and is in the area opposite Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Beach Resort.

While I refer to it as Al Gargash Mosque I am not really sure that's the official name. I asked at the nearby stores and cafeteria and was informed that the mosque is referred to as Al Gargash mosque. If you know the official name for the mosque and it is something else please let me know






Saturday, July 19, 2014

Grand Mosque

The Grand Mosque is located in the busy Bur Dubai area close to the textile souq off Ali Bin Abi Taleb street. The mosque was originally built in 1900 and was a school where children learnt to recite the holy Quran. The original school was replaced by a mosque at same location in 1960 and later reconstructed to its current form in 1998.

A unique feature in the design is the 45 small domes and 9 large domes on the roof of the mosque. The Grand Mosque of Dubai is done up in Persian style wíth blue mosaic work and sand colored facades. The mosque contains beautiful handmade stained glass work. 











Monday, July 14, 2014

Heritage Village

Its like time stood still. An old world charm right in the middle of a bustling city. Heritage Village recreates the Dubai of yore, a testimony to the Govt's efforts to show case history. Located near the Shindhaga end of Dubai creek on Bur Dubai side, the village provides views of Dubai's traditional lifestyle and culture. 










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