Ras Al Khaimah woos Indian expat investors in UAE with 30-50% Return on Investment

Dubai: As an emerging investment hotspot in the UAE, Ras Al Khaimah is offering 30 to 50 per cent Return on Investment (ROI), Abdulla Al Abdouli, CEO of Marjan told members of the Dubai Chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), at an Investment Summit organised by ICAI in Dubai.

Speaking at the summit titled "Opportunities Unlimited: Investing in a World of Possibilities", Al Abdouli urged Indian expat investors to benefit from the opportunities in Ras Al Khaimah's real estate and hospitality sectors.

The summit is one of the many knowledge series organised by the ICAI Dubai Chapter to help its members benefit from investment opportunities across the UAE and India – where most Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) invest in equity, bonds, real estate, commodities and currencies, among other asset classes.

Addressing the summit, CA Jai Prakash Agarwal, Chairman of ICAI Dubai Chapter said: “Dreams do not come true by dreaming. Neither hard work can make a dream come true, nor smart work can make it true. For making a dream come true, two things are required – smartness and boldness. Smartness to understand and gather knowledge, boldness to put it into action.”  

Rishi Chawla, Vice Chairman, ICAI Dubai Chapter, lauded the commendable role played by the Indian Chartered Accountants and his fellow members, as ICAI Dubai touched the highest number of members in 43 years, now standing at 3150+ members and counting.

As the chief guest at the summit, Al Abdouli said Ras Al Khaimah is emerging as a major investment hub with real estate and tourism driving growth with mega-projects like the $5.1 billion Wynn Al Marjan Island resort, set to open in 2027, and a Dh5 billion investment pipeline from RAK Properties.

In the first half of 2025, Ras Al Khaimah recorded Dh6 billion worth of off-plan home sales and Dh646 million in ready property transactions, with average rental yields for apartments at around 5.6 per cent.

The emirate’s projected population growth is expected to create demand for about 45,000 new homes over the next few years. Tourism is also expanding rapidly, with 1.28 million visitors in 2024 and targets to nearly triple that number by 2030, supported by plans for up to 15,000 hotel keys on Al Marjan Island.

"Investors in real estate [in freehold and residential units] should enjoy 30-50 per cent ROI. That’s the market that we have created and that is what we would like to maintain,” said Al Abdouli.

Meanwhile, BNW Developments, the largest private developer in Ras Al Khaimah, is coming up with 12 new projects in RAK Central, said Ankur Aggarwal, chairman and founder of BNW Developments. Speaking to Gulf News on the sidelines of the summit, he said BNW is targeting a total inventory of around Dh20 billion with over 10,000 residential units in Ras Al Khaimah over four and a half years.

He noted that meeting the demand for the inventory may be challenging for developers due to limited new master plans over the next three to four years. "This situation is very promising for investors, who are likely to see substantial returns,” he said.

Piyush Jhunjhunwala, founder and CEO of Stockify, urged Indian expats to invest in stock exchanges and in companies in the pre-IPO stage. "National Stock Exchange (NSE) delivered 16 times return on investment when invested at the pre-IPO stage, compared to post-IPO stage. Invest in great companies with great leadership and in unlisted companies, especially those preparing for the Initial Public Offering (IPO). Your returns could range from six to 15 times or more," he highlighted.

CA Rachana Ranade, a well-known Indian influencer, who educates people on investments and financial planning, demonstrated how Artificial Intelligence (AI) should be used for best investment decisions.

"AI can help in making your investment decisions. But OI is required to use AI to get the desired result. OI stands for Original Intelligence. While AI helps in summarising tonnes of information faster, OI helps in inferring those summaries, so that decisions can be made faster and opportunities can be grabbed on time," she pointed out.

Meanwhile, the summit also explored investment opportunities in India which has reached a significant milestone in its economic development, with gross foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows totalling an impressive Rs86.87 trillion (US$1 trillion) since April 2000, according to the India Brand Equity Forum (IBEF).

The Indian economy is growing at double the growth rate of the average global growth of 3.5 per cent. More than 7,500 companies are listed in Indian equity market with a market capitalisation exceeding $4.29 trillion as of March 2025 – higher than the country's GDP, the summit organised exclusively for the ICAI Dubai members heard.