UAE mortgage market to soar

Dubai: The UAE's mortgage market will leap from Dh20 billion by the end of this year to Dh64 billion over the next three years, and more than 60 per cent of home finance will be Sharia-compliant, officials at a conference said on Thuesday.

Islamic banking and fin-ance specialist Sabahuddin Azmi told delegates that outstanding credit in the UAE housing market, which stood at Dh17 billion at the end of 2006, will touch Dh20 billion at the end of 2008 and is expected to rise sharply between now and 2011 as real estate growth exceeds an estimated Dh419 billion during this period.

Azmi, Faculty at the Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies in Sharjah, said Amlak Fin-ance and Tamweel, both Sharia-compliant, dominate the UAE housing fin-ance market, holding 35 per cent and 25 per cent shares respectively.

He was speaking on the final day of the two-day summit where an international panel of 13 financial experts have been debating the difference between Western family wealth management methods and Islamic Sharia-compliant principles.

Sponsored by Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone Authority, the summit was held under the patronage of Shaikh Saud Bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah.