Abu Dhabi's Eshraq eyeing UAE, Saudi property markets

Newly-listed Eshraq Properties plans to focus on three real estate projects in the United Arab Emirates and expand into Saudi Arabia in the short-term, its chairman told Reuters. Eshraq, which secured listing on the Abu Dhabi Securities Market on Thursday, will launch two Abu Dhabi-based projects, Marina Rise and Abu Dhabi Gate, as well as another project in Dubai's Jumeirah by the end of the year, Salah bin Nasra said on the sidelines of a bourse launch ceremony.He declined to give a value for the projects. "We believe the market will recover, it will be strong and we can get good returns. We are looking at natural growth," he said. "We have strong financials, enough liquidity and good support from banks."The UAE's real estate sector has yet to recover from the collapse it suffered after a five-year boom that ended in 2008.Eshraq is also planning to enter the Saudi real estate market over the next three to five years where demand is strong, he said. The firm raised AED825m ($225m) in an over-subscribed initial public offering (IPO) earlier this year. It offered 55 percent of its capital through the IPO.Eshraq, with total assets of AED1.5bn, became the 66th company to be listed on the Abu Dhabi bourse.