Feb 5, 2023

Real Estate Investment in Turkey for Emiratis

Since the establishment of the United Arab Emirates in 1971, Turkey opened an embassy in 1979, while the United Arab Emirates opened an embassy in Ankara in 1983. Relations have witnessed remarkable economic developments after 2005, with a number of Emirati companies forcefully entering the Turkish market including real estate investment and any other investment. Emirates Capital Towers Group has invested about $900 million since 2007 in the Turkish market.

Until 2015, the strength of economic relations between Turkey and the UAE was the largest and most developed at the level of the Arab Gulf states.

However, the qualitative leap in the development of relations between the two countries came after the visit of Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu to the UAE on April 25, 2016, during which he met his counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al. In 2023, the Turkish and Emirati presidents witnessed the exchange of memorandums of understanding and agreements worth $50.7 billion, aiming to diversify the areas of the comprehensive strategic partnership between the two countries and expand its horizons in a way that achieves the two countries’ aspirations for sustainable economic growth and prosperity.

In particular, Emirati investors constitute an important base of foreign investors in the field of real estate investment in Turkey, as they turn to real estate investment in Turkey in various types of properties such as residential apartments, penthouse apartments, villas, commercial offices, and hotel and tourism projects.

In this article, we will talk about real estate investment in Turkey for Emirati investors and the Turkish real estate market, in addition to reviewing some strategies and advice that can help achieve sustainable success in the real estate market. We will also address recent developments in Turkish real estate policies and their potential impact on UAE investors’ real estate investment decisions in Turkey.

The nature of the Emirati-Turkish relations

The UAE is an important market for Turkish contractors in the construction sector, as until 2013 Turkish companies implemented 100 projects worth $8.5 billion.

The Emirati desire to achieve a new rapprochement with Turkey appeared, while the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Anwar Gargash, announced when he stressed that his country wanted normal relations with Turkey, and spoke of encouraging indications to achieve this. This matter became clear last year, 2023, when the UAE and Turkey signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement aimed at increasing the volume of trade between the two countries by $40 billion.

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Emiratis in Turkey

If we review the number of Emirati visitors to Turkey for tourism, Turkish statistics indicate that about 45,000 Emirati citizens visit Turkey each year.

As for the presence at the level of economic entities, we can talk about the most prominent of these models, including the opening in August 2016 of the UAE real estate company Emaar, a park in the tourist city of Antalya in Turkey on an area of 639,000 square meters, with a value of one billion dollars, in cooperation with the Rixos Hotels Group.

UAE-based Abraaj Capital Group, which manages $9 billion in assets and has an office in Istanbul, has invested nearly $900 million since 2007 in the Turkish market, according to an earlier statement by the group. In May 2016, DP World officially opened DP World - Yaremça, one of the largest marine terminals in Turkey.

Turkey is also one of the largest trading partners of the UAE, as the value of intra-oil non-oil trade between the two countries during the period from 2013 to 2022 amounted to more than $103 billion, distributed over $56 billion for imports, about $35 billion for exports, and more than $12 billion for export repatriation, according to what was stated by the Federal Center for Competitiveness and Statistics in the UAE. In 2023, the governments of the two countries signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement that aims to increase the volume of trade between the two countries by $40 billion over the next five years, including real estate investment in Turkey.

The most important Emirati investments in Turkey

Emiratis work in real estate investment in Turkey, small and medium businesses, entrepreneurship, renewable energy sectors, manufacturing, food, pharmaceutical and medical industries, tourism, consumer goods and services, financial and logistics services, retail, malls, and hotels are the main investments of the United States and the United Arab Emirates in Turkey. In addition to the recent purchase of shares in major companies and Turkish public banks.

How much are the UAE investments in Turkey?

There is a large number of investments between Turkey and the UAE directly, as well as the speed of investments between them and the volume of trade. The UAE ranks first among the Gulf countries in investing in Turkey, in general and real estate investment in Turkey, in particular, Qatar is in the second place, and in third place comes Saudi investments in Turkey. Then Kuwait in fourth place, according to Anadolu agency.

Turkish presence in the Emirates

According to official statistics, about 10,000 Turkish citizens live in the UAE. The number of Turkish companies registered with the Ministry of Economy in the United Arab Emirates by the end of 2015 reached 69 companies, the number of commercial agencies reached 73 companies, and the number of registered trademarks during the same period was 1713.

What are the most important Turkish investments in the UAE?

The UAE is an important market for Turkish contractors to invest in the construction sector. Until 2013, Turkish companies implemented projects worth $8.5 billion. Turkish companies invest in the UAE, in addition to the presence of more than 1,700 Turkish brands registered in the UAE, stimulating investment between the two countries.

What is the volume of trade exchange between Turkey and the UAE?

The value of Turkish exports to the UAE in 2019 amounted to 3.5 billion dollars, while the value of its imports from the UAE in the same year amounted to 4.33 billion dollars.

Turkey ranks 15th in the world for the trading partners of the United Arab Emirates and represents the sixth largest importer from the United Arab Emirates, which gives an indication of the possibility of transferring this relationship to a higher level of coordination and partnership between the two countries.

What are the most important Turkish exports to the UAE?

Turkish exports to the UAE are varied, but the most common are precious stones, metals, air parts, transportation, oil derivatives, machinery, hardware, iron, and steel.

What are the most important UAE exports to Turkey?

Among the most important UAE exports to Turkey are gold, aluminum, jewelry, oil, mineral oils, chemicals, and iron.

Emirati investments in Turkish real estate

Reports indicate an increase in the volume of Emirati investments in the real estate sector and expansion in the construction of hotels, resorts and villas, in many tourist areas in Turkey such as Antalya and the Mediterranean region in general, Trabzon, and the Mediterranean region. Black Sea Region, Bursa, Yalova, and Sapanca. Emirati companies are also active in building apartments and residential complexes in Trabzon and Bursa with a capital of half a billion dollars.

Turkey has become an attractive environment for Arabs to buy real estate and implement projects, as it is a safe investment environment, intersecting with government facilities, exemptions and reductions, as Emiratis achieved less than 5% of total real estate sales to foreigners in Turkey during the month of August. 2020.

In particular, European studies indicate Turkey's second place in the world after New Zealand in real estate sector activity.

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