MANAMA, 28 February 2008 — The decision to launch the common market, which was taken by the GCC leaders at their last summit held in Doha, has been met by widespread interest among regional and international business communities.
The opening of GCC markets, the harmonization of regulations and the setting of new legislations to encourage pan-GCC investment will accompany the new move. This will add a further momentum to the already booming real estate market across the Gulf.
Construction projects underway in the GCC are calculated at $1 trillion, according to industry data, and projected to grow dramatically with the launch of the GCC common market.
Salwa Malhas, senior vice president for Business Development and Marketing at Al-Mazaya Holding, clarified the significance of this development on the common real estate market: “The GCC Common Market will offer equal opportunities for all GCC citizens including the right to work in all government and private institutions in member states, buy and sell real estate and make other investments move freely between the countries and encourage pan-GCC investment. These will be reflected positively on the GCC real estate market, which will likely see more investment. Currently GCC nationals prefer investment in the GCC markets for a variety of reasons such as its attractive ROI, the wealth of untapped opportunities in this market and the modern infrastructure.”