EP3: RAK’s next chapter: can a new property market become a global destination?

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Good morning.
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So again,
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we're the
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second episode
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of our collaboration with accuracy.
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And I think
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today's episode is going to be a little different from
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the one before where we kind of dive
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deeper into the technical aspect of construction methods.
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Today's episode
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is going to be about
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Russell Khaimah,
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which arguably has been
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the center of talks in the last few years.
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And I think it's
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been very closely watched
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as a development in the
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UAE. I think over the past few years,
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we've seen some
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major international investments coming in and
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in rapid growth in hospitality.
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And of
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course, you know,
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Winal Marjan
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island, which has brought a new level
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of global attention to the Emirates.
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So it's
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our pleasure to have Sami Mutadi,
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CEO of
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RAC Properties
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here at the
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studios to kind of
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walk us through what the changes look like,
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what are some new things that we can expect
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ahead of
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the opening and branded residences,
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how that's kind of playing into the picture.
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And Benoit,
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co-hosting with me again today,
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how are you feeling about it?
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I am great.
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Good morning,
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Julian. Good
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morning, Sammy.
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I'm very excited
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about this podcast.
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I think
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Whereas Alkema as a subject
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is something we really want to deep dive.
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And who else
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than Sammy with us
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to talk about it?
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So I'm very excited.
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And I
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think Sammy,
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as now representing
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as a CEO of
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Rack Properties,
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you have a
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very deep
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dive understanding
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of the region.
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We will
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be going through that,
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but maybe for the listeners,
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you can talk about
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your journey when
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you arrived
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in Khaz Al Khema
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and a very short...
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Honestly, as we were discussing earlier,
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I was
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considering retiring.
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I been there,
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done that,
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and taking it easy in Greece,
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and I get a phone call
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pitching the
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idea of
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taking over the role of
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CEO for Rack Properties.
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And quite honestly,
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at the beginning,
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I wasn't so sure,
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but then I
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got into
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some research.
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What's happening in Ras al-Khaimah?
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How can I
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add value?
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And I can,
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in summary,
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tell you it's been
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one of the most interesting
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experiments and most interesting challenges
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that I've ever had.
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I just love it
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there. And
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I think what we've done
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as a team in Ras al-Khaimah
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has been remarkable.
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Yeah, I think you're
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right. I think,
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as Benoit mentioned in the beginning,
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Ras Akaima has been
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sort of
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on everyone's radar,
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but not quite at this level that we are at now.
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And I think...
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The discussion today,
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we're kind of
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going to put that in the
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spotlight and
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we're going to go through different
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phases and levels.
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Obviously, we want
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to talk a little bit more about branded residences
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because Ras Al
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Khaimah is known to be more of the hospitality central of the UAE,
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but in the last few years,
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it's pivoted into
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more of a residential
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and people are willing to invest in
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the Emirates to live.
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So yeah,
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I think we'll kick off with
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a question for you
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about, when you look beneath all of the
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announcements and there has been quite a bit
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in the news floating around,
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there has been project launches and capital flowing into the Emirate.
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What do you think
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personally since you've joined Russell Kaima,
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what has fundamentally changed about
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the Emirate and how people perceive it?
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The Emirate has
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come to
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global attention.
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I think the major catalyst,
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to be honest,
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has been the
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Wynn Resort.
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It's massive
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in scale.
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We're talking about a four and a half,
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$5 billion investment.
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And it has
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many tentacles
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and associated industries and supply chain.
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So it's been
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a game changer
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and it's been a catalyst.
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And I think
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Ras Al Khaimah suddenly
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became known internationally.
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Obviously, it was always
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a destination here in the
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UAE. People are very familiar with Ras Al Khaimah,
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but it
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came into prominence
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internationally. I can give you an example.
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30% of our
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investors previously
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used to
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be international
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investors. Currently,
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we're looking at
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70% are international
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versus 30% residents
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and local nationals
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from the UAE.
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So that gives you
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a bit
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of a taste
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to how
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much difference
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there has been in
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Ras al-Khimah over the last few years.
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Right. You're very humble,
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Sami, but you know the change
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that we were just discussing before
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is also shown in numbers.
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When you arrived
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in Ras Al Kemah,
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and if we're talking only about rock properties,
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but I think the whole emirates have been
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lifted up
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over the last few years.
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I don't
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want to call you
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Mr. Times 5,
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right? But
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these are the
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numbers in rock properties when you look through
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when you came in
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until now,
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net profit
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times 5.
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So it clearly shows also that growth.
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Do you think that
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everything was linked
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to that landmark,
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or as Alkema was already on a
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trajectory when you did your research before you joined,
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that was
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very positive
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and that you felt
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was on the right track even without
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that landmark?
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I think
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all of the ingredients for success,
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all of the ingredients for growth
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and prominence
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were there.
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I think what
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Win helped
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is attract global attention to the emirate,
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attract investments into the emirate,
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and the realization that this is serious.
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This is not
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a, we're not talking about a hotel or
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a major development.
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It's massive.
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I think
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when opens,
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there's going to be so much more publicity,
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and I'm really excited about what's
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likely to happen
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last quarter of 27 when win opens.
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That is
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again going to
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be, that's going to propel
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growth and attention
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in Russell Khema.
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I'd love to
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take credit
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for all that growth,
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but I'd
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like to
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also think that I
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was there at the right time and the right place
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and it was easier for me to succeed than
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other options.
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Yeah, and
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I just wanted to
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have a follow-up question on that.
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Obviously, when you accepted a role,
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this was something,
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you're starting something from the ground
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up. I think with your previous roles,
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you showed the capability,
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but this is
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essentially building a whole new
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downtown city.
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Was there any,
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was there a point where you felt pressure
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or was it for you
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a chance
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to kind of
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see a vision
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come to life?
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What did that feel like for you?
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I think
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if we've done something,
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it's first Rack Properties was
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a well-established
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real estate developer from 2005 and
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it's publicly traded
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and there was a team there.
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What I think the
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new management
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managed to
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do is accelerate
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some of the plans that were already in place
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and add some flavor
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to some of the
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directions that we were taking.
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I think the biggest success has been to attract
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world-class partnerships.
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So with the Giorgio Armani project,
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with the
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Four Seasons,
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the Anantara.
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And we also
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helped, what helped is
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the opening of
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some of our resorts.
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So Intercontinental Resort had opened eight months before I joined.
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I accelerated the
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opening of Anantara.
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It was a little bit
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behind schedule.
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So one of my primary focuses was,
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this is important.
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It's a
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beautiful, beautiful resort.
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Let's showcase it
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quickly. And
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that certainly helped.
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There was
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a lot of attention
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00:09:06,990 --> 00:09:08,350
there. But
303
00:09:10,110 --> 00:09:10,750
like I said,
304
00:09:10,830 --> 00:09:12,030
I was blessed with
305
00:09:12,070 --> 00:09:13,950
an incredible master plan,
306
00:09:13,950 --> 00:09:14,870
2 islands,
307
00:09:14,870 --> 00:09:16,350
17 kilometers of
308
00:09:17,070 --> 00:09:19,790
beachfront, mangroves,
309
00:09:19,790 --> 00:09:21,150
a mangrove sanctuary,
310
00:09:23,310 --> 00:09:23,870
a wealth
311
00:09:23,950 --> 00:09:25,150
of marine life,
312
00:09:25,230 --> 00:09:27,070
bird species,
313
00:09:27,070 --> 00:09:27,590
et cetera.
314
00:09:27,590 --> 00:09:29,950
So that made it easier.
315
00:09:31,550 --> 00:09:33,070
Investors are always
316
00:09:33,710 --> 00:09:36,190
also doing their studies right before the investor.
317
00:09:36,510 --> 00:09:37,350
I would be curious to
318
00:09:37,790 --> 00:09:38,470
hear from you,
319
00:09:38,470 --> 00:09:39,550
what do you think were
320
00:09:39,870 --> 00:09:41,150
the business triggers
321
00:09:41,710 --> 00:09:43,790
that then changed
322
00:09:43,870 --> 00:09:45,710
that vision and suddenly said
323
00:09:46,110 --> 00:09:47,870
for international investors
324
00:09:48,270 --> 00:09:49,630
and bigger investments
325
00:09:51,310 --> 00:09:53,110
redirected these investments
326
00:09:53,150 --> 00:09:54,350
towards Razal Khema?
327
00:09:55,470 --> 00:09:57,390
I think the biggest attraction is
328
00:09:57,790 --> 00:09:58,910
value for
329
00:09:59,310 --> 00:10:01,070
money, value for investment.
330
00:10:02,910 --> 00:10:03,870
Yes, the
331
00:10:04,110 --> 00:10:05,070
prices have
332
00:10:05,150 --> 00:10:06,510
escalated over the last
333
00:10:06,910 --> 00:10:07,710
couple of years,
334
00:10:07,710 --> 00:10:11,070
but you compare
335
00:10:11,310 --> 00:10:12,630
beachfront to beachfront,
336
00:10:12,750 --> 00:10:14,110
even within the UAE,
337
00:10:14,110 --> 00:10:14,990
there's still
338
00:10:15,390 --> 00:10:16,390
tremendous value to
339
00:10:16,430 --> 00:10:18,190
be had in Ras Al Khaimah.
340
00:10:19,630 --> 00:10:21,750
And when you
341
00:10:21,870 --> 00:10:24,030
couple that with the brands,
342
00:10:24,030 --> 00:10:24,390
with the
343
00:10:25,550 --> 00:10:27,270
architecture with the
344
00:10:27,550 --> 00:10:31,430
community infrastructure that is being brought to the
345
00:10:31,630 --> 00:10:35,870
forefront and add to that the beautiful nature of Ras al-Khimah,
346
00:10:36,590 --> 00:10:38,110
it becomes a compelling
347
00:10:39,710 --> 00:10:41,870
investment. And we're seeing that,
348
00:10:41,870 --> 00:10:42,630
as I mentioned,
349
00:10:43,070 --> 00:10:43,790
we have
350
00:10:44,030 --> 00:10:45,670
investors from all over the world.
351
00:10:45,990 --> 00:10:46,990
And it's not just with
352
00:10:47,070 --> 00:10:47,950
right properties.
353
00:10:47,950 --> 00:10:48,590
We're seeing it
354
00:10:48,630 --> 00:10:49,350
at Marjan,
355
00:10:49,350 --> 00:10:50,350
we're seeing it in
356
00:10:50,390 --> 00:10:52,910
Alhamra. So everybody is
357
00:10:53,230 --> 00:10:54,990
actually benefiting from this
358
00:10:56,350 --> 00:10:58,750
realization of how attractive Ras al-Khima
359
00:10:58,910 --> 00:11:00,110
is. Right.
360
00:11:00,510 --> 00:11:01,550
And that has been
361
00:11:01,790 --> 00:11:02,750
the decision
362
00:11:02,910 --> 00:11:03,950
to shift from,
363
00:11:04,310 --> 00:11:04,710
of course,
364
00:11:04,710 --> 00:11:05,470
what you were saying,
365
00:11:05,550 --> 00:11:07,150
if a lift up
366
00:11:07,230 --> 00:11:08,030
in terms
367
00:11:08,070 --> 00:11:09,310
of hospitalities,
368
00:11:09,790 --> 00:11:11,310
in terms of branded residence
369
00:11:11,350 --> 00:11:11,870
and all of that.
370
00:11:12,030 --> 00:11:12,830
But then there is
371
00:11:13,310 --> 00:11:15,030
another tipping point to go into,
372
00:11:15,550 --> 00:11:17,110
we're going to have a mega project,
373
00:11:17,110 --> 00:11:18,910
we're going to have a landmark in the region.
374
00:11:19,790 --> 00:11:22,110
Do you think that there is a need for first
375
00:11:22,430 --> 00:11:24,030
stabilized growth
376
00:11:24,110 --> 00:11:25,230
and as you were saying,
377
00:11:25,790 --> 00:11:28,270
clear for investors,
378
00:11:28,910 --> 00:11:30,830
clear advantages to be in the region
379
00:11:31,150 --> 00:11:32,270
before you start
380
00:11:32,830 --> 00:11:34,350
thinking about such a big
381
00:11:35,550 --> 00:11:37,230
differentiator in
382
00:11:37,550 --> 00:11:38,230
the Emirates?
383
00:11:38,430 --> 00:11:40,430
There's no black and white answer,
384
00:11:40,510 --> 00:11:41,310
to be honest.
385
00:11:42,750 --> 00:11:43,630
But it was
386
00:11:43,870 --> 00:11:45,710
absolutely an accelerator
387
00:11:46,190 --> 00:11:48,030
for the attention and for the growth
388
00:11:48,070 --> 00:11:49,030
of Ras Al Khaimah.
389
00:11:49,030 --> 00:11:50,830
And we've witnessed that not just in
390
00:11:51,710 --> 00:11:52,310
Ras Al Khaimah,
391
00:11:52,310 --> 00:11:54,550
I mean here in Dubai with the Burj Khalifa.
392
00:11:55,230 --> 00:11:56,750
Just think of
393
00:11:56,910 --> 00:12:00,110
how much development that created and how much
394
00:12:00,510 --> 00:12:03,470
ancillary interest that
395
00:12:03,630 --> 00:12:04,430
it generated.
396
00:12:04,430 --> 00:12:05,310
The same with
397
00:12:05,870 --> 00:12:07,430
Yas Island in Abu
398
00:12:07,470 --> 00:12:07,910
Dhabi, the
399
00:12:07,950 --> 00:12:08,870
museums and so on.
400
00:12:09,070 --> 00:12:11,790
So I think it's critical for any
401
00:12:13,310 --> 00:12:15,150
destination to have
402
00:12:15,590 --> 00:12:16,350
an anchor.
403
00:12:17,030 --> 00:12:17,630
And I think
404
00:12:17,670 --> 00:12:18,190
of Win
405
00:12:18,350 --> 00:12:19,070
as a
406
00:12:19,230 --> 00:12:20,630
very necessary anchor,
407
00:12:20,630 --> 00:12:21,870
not just for Sukhima,
408
00:12:22,350 --> 00:12:24,350
but honestly for the wider
409
00:12:24,510 --> 00:12:25,390
region as well.
410
00:12:26,830 --> 00:12:28,190
To put things in perspective,
411
00:12:28,190 --> 00:12:28,750
I mentioned
412
00:12:29,150 --> 00:12:30,350
the value of that
413
00:12:30,430 --> 00:12:31,390
development, but
414
00:12:32,190 --> 00:12:34,430
It will have 1,600
415
00:12:35,150 --> 00:12:36,830
keys. It will have
416
00:12:37,150 --> 00:12:37,790
close to
417
00:12:37,830 --> 00:12:38,910
24 F&B
418
00:12:38,990 --> 00:12:40,190
outlets. It will have
419
00:12:40,750 --> 00:12:42,030
a high-end mall,
420
00:12:42,270 --> 00:12:43,630
marina, clubs,
421
00:12:44,430 --> 00:12:45,630
conference centers.
422
00:12:45,630 --> 00:12:48,270
It's going to be a game changer on the MICE front,
423
00:12:48,550 --> 00:12:49,550
the conferences.
424
00:12:50,190 --> 00:12:51,070
So imagine,
425
00:12:51,150 --> 00:12:51,390
I mean,
426
00:12:51,630 --> 00:12:52,070
all of the
427
00:12:52,190 --> 00:12:53,950
businesses and the corporates
428
00:12:54,390 --> 00:12:54,750
in the
429
00:12:54,910 --> 00:12:56,030
wider region,
430
00:12:56,430 --> 00:12:57,630
that is going to be
431
00:12:57,950 --> 00:12:59,470
a primary destination and a
432
00:12:59,550 --> 00:13:01,870
primary point of attraction
433
00:13:01,950 --> 00:13:02,350
for them.
434
00:13:02,750 --> 00:13:03,470
So yes,
435
00:13:04,990 --> 00:13:07,550
I reconfirm it's
436
00:13:08,430 --> 00:13:10,310
been an accelerator,
437
00:13:10,310 --> 00:13:11,470
a game changer.
438
00:13:12,910 --> 00:13:15,590
And what's important for us is to
439
00:13:15,630 --> 00:13:16,990
actually catch up with that.
440
00:13:17,750 --> 00:13:18,030
You know,
441
00:13:18,270 --> 00:13:19,430
you don't
442
00:13:20,110 --> 00:13:21,230
win to
443
00:13:21,390 --> 00:13:22,910
open and
444
00:13:23,390 --> 00:13:24,350
the rest of the
445
00:13:24,510 --> 00:13:25,870
neighborhood is
446
00:13:26,590 --> 00:13:27,470
lagging behind.
447
00:13:27,470 --> 00:13:29,870
And I think what we've managed to do
448
00:13:30,190 --> 00:13:31,310
jointly within Ras
449
00:13:31,350 --> 00:13:31,790
Al Khaimah
450
00:13:32,430 --> 00:13:34,070
is to focus on development,
451
00:13:34,070 --> 00:13:36,670
but also focus on very important
452
00:13:36,990 --> 00:13:38,750
issues such as infrastructure.
453
00:13:39,870 --> 00:13:40,910
Roads, if you look at the
454
00:13:41,070 --> 00:13:43,390
road situation in Ras Al Khaimah now,
455
00:13:44,350 --> 00:13:45,550
everything is a diversion,
456
00:13:45,550 --> 00:13:47,950
but so much is happening to get
457
00:13:48,110 --> 00:13:50,590
the road system and network ready,
458
00:13:50,910 --> 00:13:52,350
tunnels, bridges,
459
00:13:52,430 --> 00:13:53,870
major investment in
460
00:13:54,750 --> 00:13:57,630
connectivity and transportation.
461
00:13:58,670 --> 00:13:59,870
There's tremendous
462
00:14:00,350 --> 00:14:01,790
investments in power.
463
00:14:02,430 --> 00:14:04,430
So for our developments,
464
00:14:04,430 --> 00:14:06,510
MENA, we're now
465
00:14:07,150 --> 00:14:07,430
in the
466
00:14:08,350 --> 00:14:10,590
early stages of adding substations
467
00:14:11,230 --> 00:14:13,350
and providing for the future of the
468
00:14:13,950 --> 00:14:16,670
remaining development that we're undertaking.
469
00:14:17,150 --> 00:14:18,670
A lot is happening and there's
470
00:14:18,750 --> 00:14:20,830
a lot of collaboration in Ras el-Khim
471
00:14:20,870 --> 00:14:22,430
on these fronts.
472
00:14:22,910 --> 00:14:23,550
Yeah, I just
473
00:14:24,030 --> 00:14:26,510
have a follow-up question to that because you mentioned how
474
00:14:27,230 --> 00:14:27,870
there are
475
00:14:28,030 --> 00:14:29,790
infrastructures being developed.
476
00:14:31,110 --> 00:14:31,470
Of course,
477
00:14:31,550 --> 00:14:32,830
as a master developer,
478
00:14:32,910 --> 00:14:34,510
you are communicating with a lot of
479
00:14:34,750 --> 00:14:37,070
other stakeholders in the industry.
480
00:14:37,870 --> 00:14:39,270
How has
481
00:14:39,310 --> 00:14:41,870
the communication from the very start kind of helped
482
00:14:42,430 --> 00:14:43,510
put this all together?
483
00:14:43,510 --> 00:14:45,150
And how do you make sure that
484
00:14:45,550 --> 00:14:49,230
all of these different destinations in the emirate are not just pockets,
485
00:14:49,310 --> 00:14:50,990
but all combined as one
486
00:14:51,150 --> 00:14:52,030
major city?
487
00:14:52,430 --> 00:14:54,870
I think that's what's very unique about Ras El Khema,
488
00:14:54,870 --> 00:14:57,070
and I'm being very honest here.
489
00:14:58,110 --> 00:14:59,110
We meet with the
490
00:14:59,310 --> 00:15:02,590
municipality on a regular basis.
491
00:15:03,070 --> 00:15:05,790
They've appointed or they've created
492
00:15:07,870 --> 00:15:09,150
a service arm
493
00:15:09,550 --> 00:15:10,750
for developers
494
00:15:11,630 --> 00:15:13,070
to attend to any
495
00:15:13,310 --> 00:15:14,750
delays, any issues,
496
00:15:14,790 --> 00:15:16,350
any challenges that the
497
00:15:16,510 --> 00:15:17,470
developers have.
498
00:15:17,950 --> 00:15:19,550
And there is a person that
499
00:15:19,630 --> 00:15:23,310
we have the phone number to that if there are any issues,
500
00:15:23,790 --> 00:15:24,750
we get immediate
501
00:15:25,150 --> 00:15:29,710
resolution. It's not siloed
502
00:15:29,830 --> 00:15:30,630
as an Emirate.
503
00:15:31,310 --> 00:15:32,710
Actually, because of the
504
00:15:33,230 --> 00:15:34,190
scale of
505
00:15:34,270 --> 00:15:34,990
Ras Al Khaimah,
506
00:15:34,990 --> 00:15:36,910
there's tremendous communication
507
00:15:36,950 --> 00:15:39,630
between civil defense,
508
00:15:39,950 --> 00:15:42,710
municipality, RIRA,
509
00:15:43,030 --> 00:15:44,270
all of the agencies,
510
00:15:44,270 --> 00:15:45,150
the transport
511
00:15:45,350 --> 00:15:47,990
authority. There's
512
00:15:48,590 --> 00:15:50,670
open channels of communication and
513
00:15:51,710 --> 00:15:53,470
there's collaboration
514
00:15:54,190 --> 00:15:55,550
that I haven't seen in
515
00:15:55,950 --> 00:15:56,950
many other places.
516
00:15:57,430 --> 00:15:58,750
And that certainly is
517
00:15:58,830 --> 00:16:00,390
a major boost to
518
00:16:00,910 --> 00:16:01,710
what we are doing.
519
00:16:02,190 --> 00:16:03,470
Right. Take
520
00:16:03,510 --> 00:16:04,990
us through that collaborative a bit,
521
00:16:05,310 --> 00:16:07,870
because that's very interesting and it's probably
522
00:16:08,430 --> 00:16:09,310
also unique.
523
00:16:09,390 --> 00:16:10,190
As you were saying,
524
00:16:10,430 --> 00:16:11,510
everybody is trying to
525
00:16:12,910 --> 00:16:14,990
reach for the win-win and accelerate,
526
00:16:15,310 --> 00:16:16,030
everything. So
527
00:16:16,670 --> 00:16:18,590
you also have major development
528
00:16:19,030 --> 00:16:20,110
under your responsibility.
529
00:16:20,110 --> 00:16:20,470
You're talking
530
00:16:20,510 --> 00:16:21,390
about the Strand,
531
00:16:21,510 --> 00:16:22,950
the Marjan Beach District.
532
00:16:24,110 --> 00:16:24,910
Marjan is not
533
00:16:26,430 --> 00:16:27,150
Marjan Beach.
534
00:16:27,510 --> 00:16:28,270
Exactly the beach.
535
00:16:29,710 --> 00:16:31,470
So These 2 are
536
00:16:31,790 --> 00:16:33,550
located close to the margin island.
537
00:16:33,790 --> 00:16:36,990
Correct. Within this discussion
538
00:16:37,190 --> 00:16:38,270
and collaborations,
539
00:16:39,870 --> 00:16:40,830
did you have to
540
00:16:40,990 --> 00:16:42,430
navigate and accelerate,
541
00:16:42,670 --> 00:16:44,030
change your business model,
542
00:16:44,550 --> 00:16:47,070
reassess within the development because
543
00:16:47,150 --> 00:16:48,910
it suddenly accelerated
544
00:16:49,550 --> 00:16:51,230
in the last few years?
545
00:16:51,790 --> 00:16:53,310
Or you really,
546
00:16:53,390 --> 00:16:54,390
before you launch
547
00:16:54,430 --> 00:16:54,990
all of that,
548
00:16:55,070 --> 00:16:56,190
you kind of set
549
00:16:57,070 --> 00:16:59,790
everything, and then we work
550
00:16:59,870 --> 00:17:00,630
together the
551
00:17:00,670 --> 00:17:01,470
overall vision.
552
00:17:02,110 --> 00:17:02,990
With development,
553
00:17:02,990 --> 00:17:03,550
at least
554
00:17:03,870 --> 00:17:04,430
with us,
555
00:17:04,470 --> 00:17:07,710
and what I typically do is we do have a role on
556
00:17:07,790 --> 00:17:08,430
time. So
557
00:17:08,510 --> 00:17:09,350
we look at the
558
00:17:09,390 --> 00:17:10,510
next five years
559
00:17:10,790 --> 00:17:11,230
and we
560
00:17:11,310 --> 00:17:14,430
identify what should we bring
561
00:17:14,910 --> 00:17:15,630
to the table
562
00:17:16,630 --> 00:17:19,230
and what is the pipeline and how are we going to finance
563
00:17:19,310 --> 00:17:20,150
that and when are we
564
00:17:20,270 --> 00:17:22,270
going to do different components and so on.
565
00:17:23,630 --> 00:17:26,070
The challenge was in how fast
566
00:17:26,270 --> 00:17:28,270
we managed to move.
567
00:17:29,790 --> 00:17:32,670
And we weren't the only player in
568
00:17:32,910 --> 00:17:33,630
Ras Al Khaimah.
569
00:17:33,630 --> 00:17:34,190
There were,
570
00:17:34,350 --> 00:17:35,230
like we said,
571
00:17:35,310 --> 00:17:36,590
tremendous interest from
572
00:17:37,230 --> 00:17:38,750
so many investors,
573
00:17:38,750 --> 00:17:39,150
so many.
574
00:17:39,550 --> 00:17:40,510
That puts
575
00:17:41,230 --> 00:17:42,350
a lot of pressure
576
00:17:42,430 --> 00:17:45,390
on regulators,
577
00:17:45,390 --> 00:17:46,670
on permitting,
578
00:17:46,670 --> 00:17:47,710
on reviews,
579
00:17:48,510 --> 00:17:51,390
But I was quite impressed with
580
00:17:51,630 --> 00:17:53,670
how Ras al-Khaimah government has
581
00:17:54,110 --> 00:17:55,710
managed that aspect of it.
582
00:17:56,270 --> 00:17:57,710
And I gave the example of
583
00:17:57,950 --> 00:17:59,070
they actually
584
00:17:59,950 --> 00:18:00,990
have established
585
00:18:03,230 --> 00:18:05,070
a dedicated one-stop shop
586
00:18:05,470 --> 00:18:08,430
that addresses specific developers'
587
00:18:08,830 --> 00:18:11,150
concerns, requirements,
588
00:18:11,550 --> 00:18:13,230
challenges, and
589
00:18:13,910 --> 00:18:14,590
it's been
590
00:18:14,670 --> 00:18:15,390
a brilliant
591
00:18:16,350 --> 00:18:17,470
contribution to
592
00:18:18,590 --> 00:18:19,390
the ease of
593
00:18:19,630 --> 00:18:20,470
moving forward.
594
00:18:22,310 --> 00:18:25,470
Interesting. I think then let's
595
00:18:25,950 --> 00:18:27,070
talk a little bit about
596
00:18:27,950 --> 00:18:29,550
building Russell Kaima
597
00:18:29,750 --> 00:18:30,830
and making it
598
00:18:31,470 --> 00:18:32,510
the best it can be
599
00:18:32,990 --> 00:18:33,350
in the
600
00:18:33,390 --> 00:18:34,470
future. I think we've
601
00:18:36,510 --> 00:18:39,950
Can the market deliver the pipeline is a question that I think a lot
602
00:18:40,150 --> 00:18:41,910
of us in the industry,
603
00:18:41,910 --> 00:18:42,870
whether or not you're
604
00:18:43,070 --> 00:18:44,110
on this side or that side,
605
00:18:44,110 --> 00:18:45,310
would be able to talk about.
606
00:18:45,310 --> 00:18:46,510
There has been some
607
00:18:46,670 --> 00:18:49,750
logistical issues that happened in the past few months and
608
00:18:50,270 --> 00:18:52,110
supply kind of
609
00:18:52,350 --> 00:18:54,270
issues that have gone along the way,
610
00:18:54,270 --> 00:18:54,830
which we.
611
00:18:55,310 --> 00:18:56,590
frankly, cannot ignore.
612
00:18:57,070 --> 00:18:59,550
How have you navigated that
613
00:18:59,790 --> 00:19:01,350
as a major developer in the
614
00:19:01,390 --> 00:19:02,990
Emirate? What has
615
00:19:03,150 --> 00:19:05,310
the experience been like for the team?
616
00:19:05,630 --> 00:19:07,310
And is this something,
617
00:19:07,630 --> 00:19:08,670
is there any
618
00:19:08,830 --> 00:19:10,510
lessons learned that have been
619
00:19:10,830 --> 00:19:11,270
pushed to
620
00:19:11,870 --> 00:19:12,270
kind of
621
00:19:12,350 --> 00:19:13,550
accelerate the project?
622
00:19:13,870 --> 00:19:14,670
Because as we all know,
623
00:19:14,670 --> 00:19:16,070
I think we're looking forward to
624
00:19:16,750 --> 00:19:17,710
Russell Kaima being
625
00:19:19,230 --> 00:19:21,270
revived again in the next few years.
626
00:19:21,270 --> 00:19:23,830
So talk us through the process for you.
627
00:19:24,190 --> 00:19:25,150
There have
628
00:19:25,470 --> 00:19:27,070
some supply chain
629
00:19:27,230 --> 00:19:28,510
challenges for sure.
630
00:19:29,310 --> 00:19:30,550
We're all familiar with the
631
00:19:32,590 --> 00:19:34,990
situation and the fact that
632
00:19:35,310 --> 00:19:38,750
traffic logistics
633
00:19:38,990 --> 00:19:40,670
has been impacted.
634
00:19:42,190 --> 00:19:44,670
What that resulted in is some shortages
635
00:19:45,350 --> 00:19:46,270
of materials,
636
00:19:47,470 --> 00:19:48,750
shortages on
637
00:19:49,310 --> 00:19:51,910
labor. But I think
638
00:19:52,750 --> 00:19:57,230
Most of the developers and most of the contractors in the UAE
639
00:19:57,390 --> 00:19:58,150
are, one,
640
00:19:58,150 --> 00:19:59,230
very resilient.
641
00:20:00,590 --> 00:20:01,750
Two, they're very
642
00:20:01,790 --> 00:20:04,030
creative. And 3,
643
00:20:04,590 --> 00:20:06,190
we discovered just how
644
00:20:07,950 --> 00:20:10,430
dependence on external supply
645
00:20:11,630 --> 00:20:13,070
sources is
646
00:20:14,670 --> 00:20:15,350
just a luxury.
647
00:20:15,350 --> 00:20:16,390
It's not a necessity,
648
00:20:16,390 --> 00:20:18,590
but everything is available locally.
649
00:20:19,630 --> 00:20:21,070
Yes, there have been some
650
00:20:21,870 --> 00:20:22,830
increases in
651
00:20:24,430 --> 00:20:25,670
pricing of some of the
652
00:20:26,190 --> 00:20:27,950
major components,
653
00:20:28,430 --> 00:20:29,470
steel, cement,
654
00:20:29,470 --> 00:20:30,030
et cetera.
655
00:20:30,910 --> 00:20:31,950
But here again,
656
00:20:32,390 --> 00:20:34,230
what we've done is we've
657
00:20:35,790 --> 00:20:37,590
realized how important it is to
658
00:20:37,710 --> 00:20:38,950
partner with the
659
00:20:39,150 --> 00:20:42,270
contractors. The contractors
660
00:20:42,990 --> 00:20:45,070
are there for us when we need them.
661
00:20:45,230 --> 00:20:45,750
We need to
662
00:20:45,790 --> 00:20:46,990
be there for them
663
00:20:47,350 --> 00:20:48,590
when they need us.
664
00:20:49,710 --> 00:20:51,630
We recognize that for some
665
00:20:52,430 --> 00:20:54,110
there have been some
666
00:20:54,750 --> 00:20:55,670
escalation and
667
00:20:55,710 --> 00:20:56,590
costs and so on,
668
00:20:56,590 --> 00:20:57,870
and we accommodate that.
669
00:20:58,270 --> 00:20:59,310
So at least,
670
00:21:00,590 --> 00:21:01,830
we work in a partnership
671
00:21:02,270 --> 00:21:03,630
mode. So
672
00:21:03,870 --> 00:21:04,750
I guess
673
00:21:05,390 --> 00:21:07,870
the most important two things that we've done
674
00:21:08,270 --> 00:21:10,190
is work extremely closely with
675
00:21:10,670 --> 00:21:11,870
the contractors,
676
00:21:12,430 --> 00:21:13,870
help them financially,
677
00:21:13,870 --> 00:21:15,070
help them with
678
00:21:15,350 --> 00:21:16,990
potential variations that
679
00:21:17,070 --> 00:21:17,870
we're looking at.
680
00:21:18,670 --> 00:21:19,870
cost, but also
681
00:21:20,190 --> 00:21:22,030
discovering new
682
00:21:22,510 --> 00:21:23,230
sources of
683
00:21:23,470 --> 00:21:25,150
materials and products
684
00:21:25,190 --> 00:21:28,030
and so on that has helped us to
685
00:21:28,110 --> 00:21:28,830
stay on track.
686
00:21:29,630 --> 00:21:31,790
I can safely say that we are on track
687
00:21:32,590 --> 00:21:34,110
with Rack Properties.
688
00:21:34,110 --> 00:21:35,270
All of our projects are here,
689
00:21:35,390 --> 00:21:37,150
I mean a couple of weeks here
690
00:21:37,550 --> 00:21:38,030
or there,
691
00:21:38,030 --> 00:21:40,750
but this is our biggest
692
00:21:40,990 --> 00:21:42,190
year for handovers.
693
00:21:42,790 --> 00:21:44,350
And just
694
00:21:44,550 --> 00:21:45,550
in the next two months,
695
00:21:45,550 --> 00:21:47,470
we're going to be handing over close to
696
00:21:48,430 --> 00:21:49,710
1600 units,
697
00:21:50,110 --> 00:21:52,270
so that's 1600 families,
698
00:21:52,430 --> 00:21:56,110
and you have to keep them all happy and
699
00:21:57,390 --> 00:21:57,950
take care of
700
00:21:57,990 --> 00:21:59,070
them. So,
701
00:21:59,390 --> 00:22:00,830
yeah. That is
702
00:22:01,230 --> 00:22:02,350
a great image
703
00:22:02,750 --> 00:22:03,070
of what
704
00:22:03,150 --> 00:22:04,270
collaboration can
705
00:22:04,510 --> 00:22:05,630
bring. I mean,
706
00:22:05,630 --> 00:22:06,910
we see it also within
707
00:22:07,030 --> 00:22:11,310
the construction contract evolution that are more and more going through
708
00:22:11,630 --> 00:22:13,630
improving that collaboration.
709
00:22:14,790 --> 00:22:15,470
I don't think it's
710
00:22:15,590 --> 00:22:18,590
only the last few months that there was already in the market.
711
00:22:19,150 --> 00:22:20,750
You were mentioning shortage
712
00:22:20,790 --> 00:22:22,590
of skilled labour,
713
00:22:23,070 --> 00:22:24,190
difficulties with,
714
00:22:24,430 --> 00:22:24,750
you know,
715
00:22:24,750 --> 00:22:27,550
finding contractors that are able
716
00:22:27,790 --> 00:22:29,950
to follow up the speed of development.
717
00:22:29,950 --> 00:22:32,350
So it's not
718
00:22:32,470 --> 00:22:32,990
only in
719
00:22:33,630 --> 00:22:34,470
the region
720
00:22:34,750 --> 00:22:35,150
as a
721
00:22:35,190 --> 00:22:38,430
whole. In that collaboration,
722
00:22:39,710 --> 00:22:41,150
is it also a topic
723
00:22:42,030 --> 00:22:44,270
when you have these collaborative meetings
724
00:22:44,750 --> 00:22:47,150
with the government and with other developers
725
00:22:47,550 --> 00:22:48,110
in terms
726
00:22:48,150 --> 00:22:50,350
of not only thinking about
727
00:22:50,990 --> 00:22:52,270
what do we need to develop
728
00:22:52,750 --> 00:22:54,590
and where are we going to develop
729
00:22:54,750 --> 00:22:55,310
and who
730
00:22:55,390 --> 00:22:58,750
can do what to make sure that the whole system works,
731
00:22:59,310 --> 00:23:00,830
but are you also talking about
732
00:23:00,910 --> 00:23:04,310
how you're going to do it and what are the difficulties to,
733
00:23:04,710 --> 00:23:05,790
are we going to find enough
734
00:23:06,270 --> 00:23:07,550
contractors to do that?
735
00:23:08,070 --> 00:23:08,230
Are we
736
00:23:08,270 --> 00:23:08,550
going to
737
00:23:09,070 --> 00:23:09,950
make sure that
738
00:23:10,030 --> 00:23:10,670
we don't
739
00:23:10,910 --> 00:23:12,390
strain the
740
00:23:12,510 --> 00:23:13,950
level of labors or
741
00:23:14,350 --> 00:23:14,590
Are you
742
00:23:14,670 --> 00:23:15,870
talking also about
743
00:23:16,190 --> 00:23:16,830
the how?
744
00:23:17,070 --> 00:23:19,230
Absolutely. So
745
00:23:20,110 --> 00:23:20,990
on one front,
746
00:23:21,230 --> 00:23:23,230
we all know diesel prices have gone up,
747
00:23:23,510 --> 00:23:25,390
which, and with contractors,
748
00:23:25,390 --> 00:23:27,230
I'll give you an example on
749
00:23:27,630 --> 00:23:29,750
wind. There's 20,000
750
00:23:29,750 --> 00:23:31,350
people working on that project.
751
00:23:31,710 --> 00:23:34,070
So imagine transporting those people
752
00:23:34,350 --> 00:23:36,430
and the cost of transporting those people.
753
00:23:36,430 --> 00:23:40,030
So one of the areas we are looking at,
754
00:23:40,710 --> 00:23:41,310
and we've made
755
00:23:42,270 --> 00:23:44,430
major strides on is labor
756
00:23:45,150 --> 00:23:50,030
accommodation. We're bringing labor accommodation closer to the center of
757
00:23:50,190 --> 00:23:52,750
activity. That reduces costs,
758
00:23:52,830 --> 00:23:54,630
that gives the
759
00:23:54,830 --> 00:23:56,830
laborers more free time
760
00:23:57,470 --> 00:23:58,350
after work
761
00:23:59,350 --> 00:23:59,950
and so on.
762
00:24:00,670 --> 00:24:01,590
We've brought
763
00:24:01,870 --> 00:24:04,110
concrete production closer again
764
00:24:04,750 --> 00:24:05,430
and we've
765
00:24:05,470 --> 00:24:07,710
increased investments in
766
00:24:08,150 --> 00:24:09,070
concrete production.
767
00:24:09,070 --> 00:24:10,030
There were shortages
768
00:24:10,510 --> 00:24:11,230
at some stage,
769
00:24:11,230 --> 00:24:13,390
prices were going up to stabilize that.
770
00:24:13,870 --> 00:24:15,150
We actually
771
00:24:15,390 --> 00:24:17,390
got into partnerships with a number of
772
00:24:17,950 --> 00:24:20,110
concrete providers and we're setting up
773
00:24:20,470 --> 00:24:23,550
closer production facilities
774
00:24:23,870 --> 00:24:24,670
for concrete.
775
00:24:25,550 --> 00:24:27,230
The government had the foresight of
776
00:24:27,470 --> 00:24:28,510
looking at staff
777
00:24:28,750 --> 00:24:30,910
accommodation, so they built
778
00:24:30,990 --> 00:24:34,470
a major staff accommodation village in Ras Al Khaimah,
779
00:24:34,470 --> 00:24:36,190
and I think for hospitality
780
00:24:36,590 --> 00:24:37,430
that's very
781
00:24:37,470 --> 00:24:39,150
well taken care of.
782
00:24:39,150 --> 00:24:40,190
We're doing our own
783
00:24:40,750 --> 00:24:41,790
for our hotels.
784
00:24:42,110 --> 00:24:43,230
Eventually, we will have
785
00:24:43,350 --> 00:24:44,270
close to six
786
00:24:44,590 --> 00:24:45,550
hotels with
787
00:24:46,910 --> 00:24:49,390
22, 2400
788
00:24:49,590 --> 00:24:52,030
employees, hospitality employees.
789
00:24:52,030 --> 00:24:52,910
But the government has
790
00:24:53,430 --> 00:24:54,750
provided facilities,
791
00:24:54,910 --> 00:24:55,310
I think,
792
00:24:55,310 --> 00:24:57,070
6,000 units for
793
00:24:57,310 --> 00:25:00,750
staff, hospitality staff in Russell-Tremen.
794
00:25:01,990 --> 00:25:02,830
And that
795
00:25:02,910 --> 00:25:06,590
collaboration I'm going to be a bit provocative maybe,
796
00:25:07,230 --> 00:25:08,990
but collaboration works
797
00:25:09,870 --> 00:25:12,350
until everybody still is happy around the table.
798
00:25:12,830 --> 00:25:14,030
And we've seen,
799
00:25:14,750 --> 00:25:16,990
in accuracy we are helping a lot of clients
800
00:25:17,390 --> 00:25:17,710
that are
801
00:25:18,030 --> 00:25:20,390
feeling that collaboration starting to
802
00:25:20,590 --> 00:25:21,630
crack a little bit,
803
00:25:21,910 --> 00:25:22,510
which is
804
00:25:23,310 --> 00:25:23,710
a big
805
00:25:23,790 --> 00:25:24,910
danger for
806
00:25:25,150 --> 00:25:26,830
the whole development.
807
00:25:27,790 --> 00:25:30,510
And we see also a lot of
808
00:25:30,830 --> 00:25:33,790
Involvement at an earlier stage to make sure
809
00:25:33,870 --> 00:25:34,270
that we
810
00:25:34,350 --> 00:25:35,030
keep the project.
811
00:25:35,150 --> 00:25:36,550
contract and that we
812
00:25:36,790 --> 00:25:39,110
keep the dispute away from
813
00:25:39,830 --> 00:25:42,870
everything we have because the collaboration
814
00:25:42,950 --> 00:25:43,510
is key.
815
00:25:43,670 --> 00:25:45,590
Absolutely. Are you
816
00:25:46,110 --> 00:25:47,990
also looking into that?
817
00:25:47,990 --> 00:25:48,870
How do
818
00:25:49,670 --> 00:25:52,950
you keep these things going and make sure they don't go into these
819
00:25:53,190 --> 00:25:54,870
disputes? And
820
00:25:55,030 --> 00:25:56,950
are there contract mechanism or
821
00:25:57,110 --> 00:26:00,790
independent parties or specific things
822
00:26:01,110 --> 00:26:01,590
that you
823
00:26:02,070 --> 00:26:03,270
put on the table
824
00:26:03,510 --> 00:26:05,150
to make sure that we don't fall into
825
00:26:05,190 --> 00:26:07,270
this trap that we've seen in other regions.
826
00:26:07,750 --> 00:26:08,550
And here,
827
00:26:08,950 --> 00:26:10,630
collaboration is even more important.
828
00:26:10,630 --> 00:26:10,950
And we
829
00:26:11,110 --> 00:26:11,870
don't seem to
830
00:26:11,910 --> 00:26:13,230
see that in Rez Al Khimah,
831
00:26:13,230 --> 00:26:13,950
as you were saying,
832
00:26:13,950 --> 00:26:15,350
the speed goes.
833
00:26:15,990 --> 00:26:18,070
And it seems to go all together.
834
00:26:19,750 --> 00:26:21,430
How do you keep that so stable?
835
00:26:22,790 --> 00:26:24,310
The word is partnership.
836
00:26:25,270 --> 00:26:26,950
I'm fortunate.
837
00:26:27,670 --> 00:26:29,270
myself having come from
838
00:26:29,350 --> 00:26:30,310
a contracting
839
00:26:30,470 --> 00:26:31,350
background. So
840
00:26:32,070 --> 00:26:33,270
I understand
841
00:26:35,270 --> 00:26:36,790
the pains that contractors
842
00:26:36,870 --> 00:26:37,350
go through.
843
00:26:37,430 --> 00:26:39,670
I understand the challenges that they go through.
844
00:26:40,710 --> 00:26:41,670
In construction
845
00:26:41,750 --> 00:26:42,430
and contracting,
846
00:26:42,430 --> 00:26:43,470
it's all about cash flow.
847
00:26:45,190 --> 00:26:46,430
So to
848
00:26:46,470 --> 00:26:47,830
the extent that we can,
849
00:26:47,830 --> 00:26:48,950
we try to
850
00:26:49,110 --> 00:26:49,950
keep the
851
00:26:51,270 --> 00:26:53,910
finances for that project
852
00:26:54,310 --> 00:26:55,430
within the project.
853
00:26:56,310 --> 00:26:56,950
so that
854
00:26:57,030 --> 00:26:59,990
contractors, not that we have that situation,
855
00:26:59,990 --> 00:27:03,030
that contractors don't take the money from us and spend it on
856
00:27:03,430 --> 00:27:05,030
another project elsewhere.
857
00:27:05,190 --> 00:27:06,070
So we make
858
00:27:06,630 --> 00:27:09,590
a point early on to make sure that is what's
859
00:27:09,670 --> 00:27:10,510
how it's going to happen.
860
00:27:10,510 --> 00:27:11,030
Kind of like
861
00:27:11,150 --> 00:27:12,390
RIRA, you know,
862
00:27:12,470 --> 00:27:13,750
you have RIRA protecting
863
00:27:14,550 --> 00:27:15,670
the investors
864
00:27:15,990 --> 00:27:17,510
and we structure
865
00:27:17,590 --> 00:27:19,590
our contracts
866
00:27:19,950 --> 00:27:22,230
in a way to keep the money in the project.
867
00:27:23,270 --> 00:27:25,110
The contractors would come to us with
868
00:27:25,670 --> 00:27:27,510
variations and claims and so on.
869
00:27:27,910 --> 00:27:30,070
It's critical that we accelerate
870
00:27:30,230 --> 00:27:32,390
the review of those claims
871
00:27:33,670 --> 00:27:36,630
so that things don't just drag on and we end up
872
00:27:36,830 --> 00:27:38,230
at the end of the project
873
00:27:38,950 --> 00:27:39,830
with 15,
874
00:27:40,630 --> 00:27:41,750
20% growth in prices.
875
00:27:41,870 --> 00:27:43,830
It's critical that we actually,
876
00:27:43,910 --> 00:27:45,670
at the time of the delay,
877
00:27:46,030 --> 00:27:47,510
when everybody's familiar with
878
00:27:47,590 --> 00:27:48,310
the details,
879
00:27:48,390 --> 00:27:49,990
resolve the issue.
880
00:27:50,670 --> 00:27:51,430
And that's one of the
881
00:27:51,990 --> 00:27:54,630
constant messages that I have for our team.
882
00:27:55,110 --> 00:27:55,430
Get it
883
00:27:56,310 --> 00:27:57,270
reviewed, get it
884
00:27:57,430 --> 00:27:59,510
resolved amicably.
885
00:28:00,230 --> 00:28:02,390
We depend on these contractors.
886
00:28:02,390 --> 00:28:03,670
We want them to come back
887
00:28:03,990 --> 00:28:05,270
again and again again.
888
00:28:06,310 --> 00:28:08,550
Because honestly,
889
00:28:08,550 --> 00:28:09,750
finding good
890
00:28:10,470 --> 00:28:13,590
contractors that understand how you do business
891
00:28:13,990 --> 00:28:15,270
is something that takes a long,
892
00:28:15,270 --> 00:28:15,830
long time.
893
00:28:16,630 --> 00:28:18,230
And when I first joined,
894
00:28:19,110 --> 00:28:20,390
There was very little
895
00:28:20,550 --> 00:28:21,590
interest in
896
00:28:21,990 --> 00:28:25,670
contractors moving from places like Dubai and Abu Dhabi to Ras Al Khaimah.
897
00:28:26,790 --> 00:28:28,310
But we went
898
00:28:28,470 --> 00:28:30,070
out of our way to
899
00:28:30,150 --> 00:28:31,430
demonstrate the pipeline.
900
00:28:32,230 --> 00:28:34,390
So we had conferences for contractors.
901
00:28:34,390 --> 00:28:37,710
We gathered contractors and we told them,
902
00:28:37,710 --> 00:28:40,230
look, Rack Properties alone
903
00:28:40,710 --> 00:28:42,630
has this kind of pipeline.
904
00:28:43,910 --> 00:28:44,870
in the works.
905
00:28:45,030 --> 00:28:45,830
And when they saw
906
00:28:45,910 --> 00:28:47,190
it materializing,
907
00:28:47,270 --> 00:28:49,430
we now have more and more interest
908
00:28:49,990 --> 00:28:51,110
in contractors
909
00:28:51,910 --> 00:28:52,870
doing work for us.
910
00:28:53,790 --> 00:28:55,310
It's critical that we pay on time.
911
00:28:55,990 --> 00:28:57,670
That's another thing that
912
00:28:58,150 --> 00:29:04,870
contractors always favor the clients that have the reputation of
913
00:29:05,670 --> 00:29:06,550
paying on time
914
00:29:07,030 --> 00:29:07,990
and being fair.
915
00:29:09,270 --> 00:29:11,510
And I think that's an
916
00:29:11,590 --> 00:29:13,190
essential ingredient to
917
00:29:13,510 --> 00:29:13,830
a good
918
00:29:14,150 --> 00:29:15,270
relationship on
919
00:29:16,470 --> 00:29:17,590
the construction front.
920
00:29:17,670 --> 00:29:18,230
Yeah, I mean,
921
00:29:18,230 --> 00:29:19,470
I'm really glad you brought that up.
922
00:29:19,470 --> 00:29:19,750
I think
923
00:29:19,870 --> 00:29:20,470
these are
924
00:29:20,790 --> 00:29:21,590
things that
925
00:29:21,750 --> 00:29:24,470
we tend to overlook even as part of the industry,
926
00:29:24,790 --> 00:29:25,310
that at the
927
00:29:25,350 --> 00:29:25,910
end of the day,
928
00:29:25,910 --> 00:29:28,550
construction is about the people.
929
00:29:28,790 --> 00:29:29,430
And it
930
00:29:29,510 --> 00:29:30,510
revolves around
931
00:29:31,030 --> 00:29:33,230
the relationships between different stakeholders.
932
00:29:33,230 --> 00:29:35,230
And it is an industry where there's
933
00:29:35,350 --> 00:29:36,390
so many different
934
00:29:37,350 --> 00:29:39,310
pieces to the puzzle that need to
935
00:29:39,670 --> 00:29:41,030
really fit well together.
936
00:29:41,030 --> 00:29:42,670
So I'm really glad that you brought
937
00:29:42,750 --> 00:29:42,950
that up.
938
00:29:43,790 --> 00:29:45,110
And I failed to mention,
939
00:29:45,110 --> 00:29:46,230
you just reminded me,
940
00:29:46,230 --> 00:29:47,910
the line of communication.
941
00:29:50,270 --> 00:29:51,110
It's not like
942
00:29:51,510 --> 00:29:53,270
the CEO will not talk to me.
943
00:29:54,390 --> 00:29:55,510
We always have
944
00:29:55,550 --> 00:29:57,510
an open line of communication.
945
00:29:57,750 --> 00:29:59,030
If there are issues,
946
00:29:59,110 --> 00:30:00,230
we're on the phone,
947
00:30:00,230 --> 00:30:01,430
we have meetings.
948
00:30:02,230 --> 00:30:04,150
And we do have regular meetings with
949
00:30:04,190 --> 00:30:05,190
all of the contractors,
950
00:30:05,190 --> 00:30:06,310
obviously, but
951
00:30:06,670 --> 00:30:08,790
at a senior level as well.
952
00:30:09,350 --> 00:30:11,910
Right. So
953
00:30:12,870 --> 00:30:16,830
I want to talk a little bit more about the investment aspect of Russell Kaima.
954
00:30:16,830 --> 00:30:17,950
And I do want
955
00:30:18,150 --> 00:30:20,310
to pivot a little to what
956
00:30:20,390 --> 00:30:21,670
Rack Properties is
957
00:30:23,350 --> 00:30:24,710
working on currently
958
00:30:24,790 --> 00:30:27,030
and what you're looking forward to in the next few years.
959
00:30:27,350 --> 00:30:28,550
I know Branded Residences,
960
00:30:28,550 --> 00:30:29,110
for example,
961
00:30:29,110 --> 00:30:29,670
has been
962
00:30:30,630 --> 00:30:31,910
a topic of discussion.
963
00:30:32,230 --> 00:30:33,110
maybe in the last
964
00:30:33,430 --> 00:30:34,230
few years.
965
00:30:34,390 --> 00:30:35,510
And I'm curious about
966
00:30:35,750 --> 00:30:38,550
how you're putting branded residences
967
00:30:38,870 --> 00:30:40,390
on the table for investors,
968
00:30:40,550 --> 00:30:41,190
along with
969
00:30:41,270 --> 00:30:42,790
all of the other residentials
970
00:30:43,190 --> 00:30:45,830
and projects and mega developments that you're working on.
971
00:30:46,550 --> 00:30:47,670
Is there anything that
972
00:30:47,990 --> 00:30:49,350
you're particularly
973
00:30:49,430 --> 00:30:51,910
keen on seeing grow
974
00:30:52,390 --> 00:30:54,550
in Rack Properties' pipeline?
975
00:30:55,830 --> 00:30:57,510
I think it's very important
976
00:30:57,590 --> 00:31:00,630
for right properties or any large-scale
977
00:31:00,710 --> 00:31:02,950
developer to have a diverse offering.
978
00:31:04,390 --> 00:31:04,870
I think
979
00:31:05,110 --> 00:31:06,950
one of the keys to success of
980
00:31:07,030 --> 00:31:09,670
any developer is identifying
981
00:31:10,070 --> 00:31:10,870
your client,
982
00:31:11,830 --> 00:31:15,430
so who is going to be interested in what.
983
00:31:17,910 --> 00:31:19,350
It doesn't make much sense to
984
00:31:19,670 --> 00:31:20,870
actually compete with
985
00:31:21,190 --> 00:31:23,430
20 other developers that are doing the same
986
00:31:23,550 --> 00:31:24,470
thing, the same
987
00:31:24,870 --> 00:31:25,830
price category,
988
00:31:25,830 --> 00:31:26,790
the same sizes,
989
00:31:26,790 --> 00:31:28,070
the same amenities.
990
00:31:28,390 --> 00:31:30,950
So it's critical that you distinguish yourself.
991
00:31:32,550 --> 00:31:35,430
And with Ras El Khaimah Properties,
992
00:31:35,430 --> 00:31:36,950
we offer extremely
993
00:31:37,110 --> 00:31:38,470
high-end branded
994
00:31:38,710 --> 00:31:41,030
residences, but we also keep an eye
995
00:31:41,750 --> 00:31:45,190
on excellent quality mid-level
996
00:31:45,910 --> 00:31:46,870
products that
997
00:31:47,830 --> 00:31:49,750
are obviously more in demand
998
00:31:50,630 --> 00:31:54,390
than, but I think key is not
999
00:31:54,430 --> 00:31:56,550
whether this building is branded or not
1000
00:31:57,150 --> 00:31:58,070
and whether you're
1001
00:31:58,310 --> 00:32:00,070
offering a mid-scale or high.
1002
00:32:00,470 --> 00:32:00,830
I think
1003
00:32:00,950 --> 00:32:02,630
key for success is
1004
00:32:02,790 --> 00:32:04,550
the creation of a community.
1005
00:32:05,430 --> 00:32:06,310
I think people...
1006
00:32:07,590 --> 00:32:09,270
are attracted to
1007
00:32:10,070 --> 00:32:12,670
lifestyle. They're attracted to
1008
00:32:12,710 --> 00:32:15,190
the wider amenities that you're offering as
1009
00:32:15,510 --> 00:32:16,310
a developer.
1010
00:32:16,550 --> 00:32:18,230
How far do they have to walk to
1011
00:32:18,310 --> 00:32:20,390
retail? Are there clinics in the area?
1012
00:32:20,430 --> 00:32:21,670
How about nurseries?
1013
00:32:21,990 --> 00:32:23,190
Where's the closest
1014
00:32:23,510 --> 00:32:25,830
school, beach clubs,
1015
00:32:25,830 --> 00:32:27,110
restaurants, all of that.
1016
00:32:27,110 --> 00:32:27,990
So we have to keep
1017
00:32:28,030 --> 00:32:28,710
all of that
1018
00:32:28,830 --> 00:32:29,350
in mind.
1019
00:32:30,390 --> 00:32:32,950
Branded properties are extremely attractive,
1020
00:32:34,070 --> 00:32:36,070
but I need to clarify that
1021
00:32:36,790 --> 00:32:39,510
There are branded properties where you just slap
1022
00:32:39,510 --> 00:32:41,270
a name that has nothing to do with
1023
00:32:41,350 --> 00:32:42,470
the property.
1024
00:32:44,430 --> 00:32:46,150
What we focus on at
1025
00:32:46,310 --> 00:32:47,830
Rack Properties is
1026
00:32:47,910 --> 00:32:49,670
hospitality related.
1027
00:32:50,230 --> 00:32:52,790
brands because we feel
1028
00:32:53,110 --> 00:32:54,630
that's where the value is added.
1029
00:32:55,510 --> 00:32:56,390
So imagine
1030
00:32:56,470 --> 00:32:57,590
with the Four Seasons
1031
00:32:58,070 --> 00:32:59,190
product, for example,
1032
00:32:59,230 --> 00:32:59,990
I'm not
1033
00:33:00,470 --> 00:33:01,270
selling here,
1034
00:33:01,670 --> 00:33:05,510
but you're actually walking into a building as if you're walking into a hotel.
1035
00:33:05,990 --> 00:33:07,190
And instead of opening
1036
00:33:07,270 --> 00:33:08,310
a key to a hotel room,
1037
00:33:08,310 --> 00:33:09,430
you're opening a key to
1038
00:33:09,990 --> 00:33:10,990
your own apartment.
1039
00:33:11,030 --> 00:33:12,070
So it's kind of
1040
00:33:12,270 --> 00:33:14,710
that elevated
1041
00:33:15,670 --> 00:33:21,110
experience. The good thing about hospitality brands is
1042
00:33:21,590 --> 00:33:23,230
they are service oriented.
1043
00:33:23,910 --> 00:33:25,510
They care about clients.
1044
00:33:26,070 --> 00:33:27,510
They care about design.
1045
00:33:27,510 --> 00:33:29,190
They care about quality of
1046
00:33:29,350 --> 00:33:31,150
products, of materials used.
1047
00:33:31,590 --> 00:33:33,430
They care about maintenance
1048
00:33:33,630 --> 00:33:34,630
and they care about
1049
00:33:35,190 --> 00:33:37,510
protecting the investment
1050
00:33:38,550 --> 00:33:38,990
of the
1051
00:33:40,710 --> 00:33:41,750
The people that buy
1052
00:33:41,990 --> 00:33:42,870
those products,
1053
00:33:43,110 --> 00:33:43,750
so that's why
1054
00:33:44,710 --> 00:33:47,270
I'm focused on hospitality-related
1055
00:33:47,590 --> 00:33:48,390
brands, and
1056
00:33:48,630 --> 00:33:49,510
it's not easy.
1057
00:33:49,830 --> 00:33:51,790
These, the
1058
00:33:52,070 --> 00:33:53,190
stronger the brand,
1059
00:33:53,670 --> 00:33:54,830
the more reputation
1060
00:33:54,950 --> 00:33:55,190
you need
1061
00:33:55,310 --> 00:33:55,670
to live
1062
00:33:55,710 --> 00:33:55,950
up to
1063
00:33:56,150 --> 00:33:57,430
it is to live up,
1064
00:33:57,430 --> 00:33:58,790
yeah, and
1065
00:33:58,870 --> 00:34:01,110
I can tell you nightmare stories.
1066
00:34:02,150 --> 00:34:03,190
on some fronts,
1067
00:34:03,190 --> 00:34:06,870
but it's going to be this type of marble and that's it.
1068
00:34:06,950 --> 00:34:07,590
Full stop.
1069
00:34:07,750 --> 00:34:09,750
You can't even think of
1070
00:34:10,230 --> 00:34:11,870
changing this to
1071
00:34:11,910 --> 00:34:14,390
that. And
1072
00:34:14,470 --> 00:34:16,630
they all have structure for
1073
00:34:16,790 --> 00:34:19,590
review, for technical input,
1074
00:34:19,590 --> 00:34:20,870
for multiple
1075
00:34:20,910 --> 00:34:23,910
departmental contribution.
1076
00:34:24,070 --> 00:34:24,990
So it takes time
1077
00:34:25,350 --> 00:34:26,390
and it's expensive.
1078
00:34:26,950 --> 00:34:27,430
But at
1079
00:34:27,510 --> 00:34:28,550
the end,
1080
00:34:28,790 --> 00:34:31,830
you have something that you're proud of as an investor
1081
00:34:31,870 --> 00:34:33,430
and as a developer.
1082
00:34:34,310 --> 00:34:34,950
That is
1083
00:34:35,190 --> 00:34:36,110
the aim and the
1084
00:34:36,230 --> 00:34:38,270
most difficult part of it is the delivery.
1085
00:34:38,470 --> 00:34:40,550
You need to deliver whatever you
1086
00:34:41,030 --> 00:34:43,430
said. And I can imagine you have some
1087
00:34:43,670 --> 00:34:44,710
nightmare stories,
1088
00:34:45,430 --> 00:34:46,790
but maybe let's focus on
1089
00:34:46,870 --> 00:34:47,670
the success stories.
1090
00:34:50,070 --> 00:34:50,790
Do you have,
1091
00:34:50,870 --> 00:34:51,830
through that journey,
1092
00:34:52,630 --> 00:34:53,430
especially on
1093
00:34:53,510 --> 00:34:54,670
what we've just discussed with
1094
00:34:54,710 --> 00:34:55,910
other developments,
1095
00:34:56,470 --> 00:34:57,350
that are now coming
1096
00:34:57,430 --> 00:34:58,310
up to delivery.
1097
00:35:00,190 --> 00:35:00,950
What would be
1098
00:35:01,510 --> 00:35:03,510
a big lessons known that maybe you didn't think
1099
00:35:03,750 --> 00:35:05,990
would be achieved in the result came out on
1100
00:35:06,390 --> 00:35:08,550
this development?
1101
00:35:09,430 --> 00:35:10,710
Thinking about the delivery,
1102
00:35:10,950 --> 00:35:12,070
what made it
1103
00:35:12,790 --> 00:35:15,830
deliver? We're still not at
1104
00:35:15,870 --> 00:35:16,910
the stage of delivery,
1105
00:35:17,030 --> 00:35:17,750
but we are
1106
00:35:17,830 --> 00:35:19,430
in early construction.
1107
00:35:19,430 --> 00:35:20,430
So we've
1108
00:35:20,550 --> 00:35:21,230
gone through the
1109
00:35:21,270 --> 00:35:22,230
hurdles of
1110
00:35:23,350 --> 00:35:24,630
the technical reviews,
1111
00:35:24,630 --> 00:35:25,470
the development,
1112
00:35:25,470 --> 00:35:26,470
the architects,
1113
00:35:27,430 --> 00:35:28,550
the architects alone.
1114
00:35:30,070 --> 00:35:30,430
So for
1115
00:35:30,470 --> 00:35:32,070
Four Seasons we're using
1116
00:35:32,310 --> 00:35:33,590
Jean-Michel, Gatti,
1117
00:35:33,590 --> 00:35:35,830
Denniston, one of the world's
1118
00:35:36,310 --> 00:35:38,230
best architectural firms.
1119
00:35:38,230 --> 00:35:39,670
And these people are
1120
00:35:40,950 --> 00:35:41,990
prima donnas sometimes.
1121
00:35:43,510 --> 00:35:44,630
They have their way
1122
00:35:44,670 --> 00:35:46,310
of doing things and you can't
1123
00:35:47,110 --> 00:35:48,070
deviate from
1124
00:35:48,230 --> 00:35:49,350
their style in there.
1125
00:35:49,750 --> 00:35:50,310
But we've had
1126
00:35:50,470 --> 00:35:51,910
an amazing relationship
1127
00:35:52,230 --> 00:35:53,670
with Jean-Michel,
1128
00:35:53,790 --> 00:35:54,550
and we are now
1129
00:35:54,630 --> 00:35:57,350
at the stage of actually bringing the product to market,
1130
00:35:57,910 --> 00:35:59,110
hopefully by the end of
1131
00:35:59,430 --> 00:36:00,150
this year.
1132
00:36:01,110 --> 00:36:02,110
At the Four Seasons,
1133
00:36:02,110 --> 00:36:04,150
we'll have beachfront villas for sale,
1134
00:36:04,710 --> 00:36:06,550
overwater villas for sale,
1135
00:36:06,590 --> 00:36:08,150
and apartments,
1136
00:36:08,230 --> 00:36:09,830
residences for sale.
1137
00:36:10,150 --> 00:36:10,710
In addition,
1138
00:36:10,710 --> 00:36:11,470
obviously, to the
1139
00:36:12,070 --> 00:36:13,990
beautiful, beautiful hotel that
1140
00:36:14,990 --> 00:36:17,750
150 key hotel that we're going to be
1141
00:36:17,910 --> 00:36:20,950
building. And it's all beachfront and it's all private and
1142
00:36:21,470 --> 00:36:22,070
it has all
1143
00:36:22,110 --> 00:36:22,310
of the
1144
00:36:22,950 --> 00:36:27,750
amenities. This was
1145
00:36:27,910 --> 00:36:29,670
a good example of how
1146
00:36:30,470 --> 00:36:32,630
that branding relationship
1147
00:36:33,190 --> 00:36:33,910
should work.
1148
00:36:34,150 --> 00:36:35,670
And actually the Four Seasons,
1149
00:36:35,750 --> 00:36:35,910
I mean,
1150
00:36:35,910 --> 00:36:36,390
one of their
1151
00:36:38,390 --> 00:36:41,390
main objectives is protection of the investor.
1152
00:36:42,230 --> 00:36:43,270
So if you look at
1153
00:36:43,670 --> 00:36:45,830
the owner's manual
1154
00:36:46,590 --> 00:36:46,990
and the
1155
00:36:47,030 --> 00:36:50,230
legal reviews that take place to make sure that
1156
00:36:50,950 --> 00:36:52,430
everything is transparent,
1157
00:36:52,470 --> 00:36:53,350
the owners
1158
00:36:53,670 --> 00:36:55,030
know exactly
1159
00:36:55,350 --> 00:36:57,070
how they're going to be served,
1160
00:36:57,070 --> 00:36:58,630
what their fees are going to be,
1161
00:36:58,790 --> 00:36:59,430
all of that
1162
00:37:00,630 --> 00:37:01,350
takes time,
1163
00:37:01,350 --> 00:37:02,470
but when it's done
1164
00:37:02,790 --> 00:37:03,590
right you have
1165
00:37:04,310 --> 00:37:04,950
a brilliant
1166
00:37:05,270 --> 00:37:07,190
product. On the other hand,
1167
00:37:07,990 --> 00:37:09,390
I've had other brands that
1168
00:37:09,430 --> 00:37:11,350
were just too busy
1169
00:37:12,150 --> 00:37:14,550
and the project
1170
00:37:15,590 --> 00:37:19,190
timeline suffered as a result of them being too busy.
1171
00:37:19,190 --> 00:37:20,150
They're fantastic.
1172
00:37:20,150 --> 00:37:21,990
They're top,
1173
00:37:22,070 --> 00:37:23,110
top premium
1174
00:37:23,350 --> 00:37:24,310
brands, but
1175
00:37:24,950 --> 00:37:25,350
you're not
1176
00:37:25,910 --> 00:37:27,750
the only game and ton for them.
1177
00:37:28,710 --> 00:37:30,830
So you have to accept that and you have to
1178
00:37:30,870 --> 00:37:31,430
live with
1179
00:37:31,750 --> 00:37:32,630
some of those.
1180
00:37:33,550 --> 00:37:35,750
which is part of the importance going back to
1181
00:37:35,870 --> 00:37:37,350
putting Ras Al Khaimah on the map,
1182
00:37:37,350 --> 00:37:37,710
right? So
1183
00:37:37,830 --> 00:37:38,230
that the
1184
00:37:38,390 --> 00:37:39,550
priorities shift.
1185
00:37:39,990 --> 00:37:41,510
Yeah. This is what's interesting.
1186
00:37:41,510 --> 00:37:42,070
I have to
1187
00:37:42,110 --> 00:37:43,750
tell you that now in Ras Al Khaimah,
1188
00:37:43,750 --> 00:37:44,910
I can't think of
1189
00:37:45,030 --> 00:37:45,830
a premium
1190
00:37:45,870 --> 00:37:48,150
brand that is not going to be there.
1191
00:37:48,550 --> 00:37:49,270
So it's not
1192
00:37:49,590 --> 00:37:51,030
your run-of-the-mill
1193
00:37:52,230 --> 00:37:54,150
Marriott Accor.
1194
00:37:54,470 --> 00:37:56,310
Every major brand,
1195
00:37:56,310 --> 00:37:58,950
whether it's Four Seasons or Mandarin or
1196
00:37:59,030 --> 00:38:00,150
Arjano by Amman,
1197
00:38:00,550 --> 00:38:01,350
or cappella,
1198
00:38:01,350 --> 00:38:02,710
or any
1199
00:38:02,790 --> 00:38:05,710
major, major name in the hospitality,
1200
00:38:05,710 --> 00:38:07,110
they're going to be there.
1201
00:38:07,630 --> 00:38:09,190
And that's a testament to
1202
00:38:09,750 --> 00:38:10,790
the success of
1203
00:38:11,670 --> 00:38:12,390
Paras el Khima.
1204
00:38:12,670 --> 00:38:13,670
And the fact that
1205
00:38:14,150 --> 00:38:15,870
these operators chose to
1206
00:38:15,910 --> 00:38:16,390
be there
1207
00:38:17,110 --> 00:38:17,670
is key.
1208
00:38:18,230 --> 00:38:18,630
For us,
1209
00:38:18,630 --> 00:38:19,910
the four seasons still does
1210
00:38:20,670 --> 00:38:21,430
It's great
1211
00:38:21,750 --> 00:38:23,390
that there is the win and
1212
00:38:23,430 --> 00:38:24,030
there's going to
1213
00:38:24,070 --> 00:38:25,910
be winning clients that would
1214
00:38:26,310 --> 00:38:28,230
love and look forward to staying there,
1215
00:38:28,230 --> 00:38:29,110
but there are
1216
00:38:29,510 --> 00:38:30,630
clients that
1217
00:38:31,510 --> 00:38:32,430
once they're
1218
00:38:32,550 --> 00:38:34,150
there and they've experienced,
1219
00:38:35,030 --> 00:38:35,990
they want to
1220
00:38:36,710 --> 00:38:38,150
go back to home.
1221
00:38:39,790 --> 00:38:42,150
And we have to provide that
1222
00:38:42,310 --> 00:38:42,750
for them.
1223
00:38:42,750 --> 00:38:44,070
And I think we're doing
1224
00:38:44,150 --> 00:38:44,630
a good job
1225
00:38:44,670 --> 00:38:45,110
at that
1226
00:38:45,670 --> 00:38:46,870
with RAC Properties.
1227
00:38:46,950 --> 00:38:48,310
Yeah, I think it's like
1228
00:38:48,630 --> 00:38:49,910
visiting Dubai,
1229
00:38:49,910 --> 00:38:50,950
hoping to see
1230
00:38:51,270 --> 00:38:52,070
Burj Khalifa,
1231
00:38:52,070 --> 00:38:54,670
but discovering so many other aspects of the
1232
00:38:54,710 --> 00:38:56,510
city that you actually fall more in love with.
1233
00:38:56,510 --> 00:38:58,630
I think it's going to be similar to RAC
1234
00:38:58,710 --> 00:39:00,310
and I'm really glad that you
1235
00:39:00,550 --> 00:39:01,030
brought up,
1236
00:39:01,030 --> 00:39:01,270
you know,
1237
00:39:01,270 --> 00:39:02,190
how, yes,
1238
00:39:02,190 --> 00:39:02,710
when is
1239
00:39:02,790 --> 00:39:03,430
a catalyst,
1240
00:39:03,430 --> 00:39:04,870
but it is only that.
1241
00:39:05,270 --> 00:39:06,510
It's probably going to
1242
00:39:06,550 --> 00:39:10,070
be the other communities and the people that's going
1243
00:39:10,070 --> 00:39:11,590
to accelerate where the Emirates is going to
1244
00:39:11,630 --> 00:39:14,790
be? It's going to be a major part of the GDP,
1245
00:39:15,430 --> 00:39:15,990
for sure.
1246
00:39:16,790 --> 00:39:18,350
I mentioned 20,000
1247
00:39:18,630 --> 00:39:21,590
employees by the contractor Alec that's building
1248
00:39:22,070 --> 00:39:22,510
that. So
1249
00:39:22,630 --> 00:39:24,070
those people need to eat,
1250
00:39:24,150 --> 00:39:24,950
those people need
1251
00:39:24,990 --> 00:39:27,510
transportation, they've invested
1252
00:39:27,590 --> 00:39:29,110
in industries,
1253
00:39:29,910 --> 00:39:33,270
joinery, stone works,
1254
00:39:33,270 --> 00:39:33,870
et cetera,
1255
00:39:34,150 --> 00:39:37,030
metal works in Ras Al Khaimah to serve these.
1256
00:39:37,510 --> 00:39:38,710
So there's
1257
00:39:39,190 --> 00:39:40,630
the main development,
1258
00:39:40,630 --> 00:39:41,430
but then you have
1259
00:39:41,470 --> 00:39:42,870
all of the ancillary
1260
00:39:43,590 --> 00:39:46,070
support facilities that are attracted
1261
00:39:46,230 --> 00:39:47,270
to. Yeah.
1262
00:39:47,590 --> 00:39:49,110
So talking about collaboration,
1263
00:39:50,710 --> 00:39:52,790
there was a first mover advantage
1264
00:39:53,910 --> 00:39:54,870
to have a gaming
1265
00:39:55,030 --> 00:39:56,390
resort in
1266
00:39:56,470 --> 00:39:57,030
Ras Al Khaimah.
1267
00:39:57,030 --> 00:39:58,470
Now we're talking about
1268
00:39:58,510 --> 00:39:59,430
gaming resorts
1269
00:39:59,750 --> 00:40:00,790
in other emirates.
1270
00:40:01,590 --> 00:40:03,510
And is that also
1271
00:40:03,550 --> 00:40:04,790
something that you're
1272
00:40:05,430 --> 00:40:06,470
including in that
1273
00:40:06,630 --> 00:40:08,070
collaborative development?
1274
00:40:08,550 --> 00:40:10,390
The fact that you might have then,
1275
00:40:10,870 --> 00:40:12,630
I don't know if you can call it competition,
1276
00:40:12,950 --> 00:40:15,190
but the first mover advantage that
1277
00:40:15,350 --> 00:40:16,150
is removed.
1278
00:40:17,910 --> 00:40:19,190
So it was a choice
1279
00:40:19,590 --> 00:40:21,110
to really choose a first,
1280
00:40:21,350 --> 00:40:23,030
probably. Now
1281
00:40:23,270 --> 00:40:24,070
that we're talking
1282
00:40:24,150 --> 00:40:24,550
about a
1283
00:40:24,630 --> 00:40:26,150
gaming resort somewhere else,
1284
00:40:26,630 --> 00:40:27,590
do you already have
1285
00:40:28,070 --> 00:40:29,510
something else in mind?
1286
00:40:30,710 --> 00:40:31,430
Look, I'm
1287
00:40:31,590 --> 00:40:32,550
not part of
1288
00:40:32,710 --> 00:40:34,870
that initiative
1289
00:40:34,950 --> 00:40:38,230
and I don't know much about what's happening in other
1290
00:40:39,270 --> 00:40:41,990
Emirates, but I do hear the same thing,
1291
00:40:41,990 --> 00:40:46,150
that there's likely to be other gaming resorts established.
1292
00:40:46,150 --> 00:40:46,630
I think
1293
00:40:47,270 --> 00:40:48,710
what's unique about WIN
1294
00:40:48,950 --> 00:40:51,270
is, to use the cliche,
1295
00:40:51,270 --> 00:40:52,470
it's the Rolls Royce
1296
00:40:52,590 --> 00:40:53,590
of gaming
1297
00:40:53,750 --> 00:40:57,630
resorts. You go to Vegas,
1298
00:40:57,630 --> 00:40:58,710
you go to Macau,
1299
00:41:00,390 --> 00:41:00,790
It is
1300
00:41:00,870 --> 00:41:01,750
prominent. It
1301
00:41:01,790 --> 00:41:02,270
is the
1302
00:41:02,710 --> 00:41:05,030
best gaming resort there is.
1303
00:41:05,110 --> 00:41:06,150
And it'll always be.
1304
00:41:06,550 --> 00:41:07,150
So yeah,
1305
00:41:07,270 --> 00:41:08,710
okay, there might be other
1306
00:41:09,590 --> 00:41:10,710
resorts elsewhere.
1307
00:41:11,190 --> 00:41:12,630
But in terms of
1308
00:41:13,030 --> 00:41:14,470
size, offering,
1309
00:41:14,710 --> 00:41:17,830
experience, luxury level,
1310
00:41:17,910 --> 00:41:19,990
I think Wynn will always be
1311
00:41:21,110 --> 00:41:22,550
a standalone.
1312
00:41:24,230 --> 00:41:25,350
And actually,
1313
00:41:25,630 --> 00:41:26,310
it's great
1314
00:41:26,390 --> 00:41:27,350
that there might be
1315
00:41:27,430 --> 00:41:28,470
other resorts.
1316
00:41:28,470 --> 00:41:29,030
I think
1317
00:41:30,070 --> 00:41:30,950
We have to,
1318
00:41:31,030 --> 00:41:31,590
we can't
1319
00:41:31,750 --> 00:41:34,550
be Emirates-centric in our
1320
00:41:35,270 --> 00:41:36,310
thinking process.
1321
00:41:36,310 --> 00:41:37,910
You have to think of
1322
00:41:38,150 --> 00:41:41,190
how attractive UAE as a whole is becoming.
1323
00:41:41,190 --> 00:41:43,990
So in addition to the attractions of Dubai,
1324
00:41:44,310 --> 00:41:46,550
the cultural centers in
1325
00:41:47,110 --> 00:41:48,550
Abu Dhabi and
1326
00:41:48,710 --> 00:41:49,950
the Disney and the
1327
00:41:51,070 --> 00:41:51,830
Sea World,
1328
00:41:51,830 --> 00:41:52,390
et cetera,
1329
00:41:52,390 --> 00:41:53,350
you have
1330
00:41:53,430 --> 00:41:54,630
the nature of Ras
1331
00:41:54,670 --> 00:41:55,310
Al-Khimah, you
1332
00:41:55,350 --> 00:41:56,110
have the wind
1333
00:41:56,950 --> 00:41:58,390
gaming resort,
1334
00:41:58,790 --> 00:42:00,070
they complement each other.
1335
00:42:00,390 --> 00:42:01,150
And they make the
1336
00:42:01,190 --> 00:42:04,950
UAE much more attractive for tourism and investment.
1337
00:42:06,110 --> 00:42:07,350
And that's,
1338
00:42:07,510 --> 00:42:08,230
we're seeing where,
1339
00:42:09,830 --> 00:42:10,870
we see the evidence.
1340
00:42:10,870 --> 00:42:13,270
We see the growth in hospitality.
1341
00:42:13,670 --> 00:42:15,590
We see the growth in tourism
1342
00:42:16,030 --> 00:42:17,510
and airline passengers.
1343
00:42:17,510 --> 00:42:18,390
Yes, we have a
1344
00:42:18,710 --> 00:42:19,510
hiccup now,
1345
00:42:19,590 --> 00:42:22,150
but this model does not exist elsewhere.
1346
00:42:22,910 --> 00:42:24,710
And it will always be the unique model.
1347
00:42:26,870 --> 00:42:29,030
We have one last segment for you,
1348
00:42:29,190 --> 00:42:29,670
Sammy, and
1349
00:42:29,750 --> 00:42:31,510
it's our quickfire segment.
1350
00:42:31,510 --> 00:42:31,830
We like
1351
00:42:31,870 --> 00:42:32,430
this the most.
1352
00:42:32,430 --> 00:42:34,150
I think we look forward to this segment
1353
00:42:34,790 --> 00:42:35,830
for every episode.
1354
00:42:35,830 --> 00:42:37,910
So we have a few questions for you.
1355
00:42:39,350 --> 00:42:40,550
Answer as fast as you can.
1356
00:42:40,630 --> 00:42:41,270
No pressure.
1357
00:42:43,590 --> 00:42:44,230
Would you like to start?
1358
00:42:44,710 --> 00:42:48,470
Yeah. You talked a lot about the international investors.
1359
00:42:49,070 --> 00:42:50,310
What is one thing
1360
00:42:50,870 --> 00:42:52,310
international investors
1361
00:42:52,470 --> 00:42:54,750
still misunderstand about Rosal Kimmel?
1362
00:42:55,270 --> 00:42:57,510
Not having been to Ras al Khimah,
1363
00:42:59,430 --> 00:43:01,270
we have to portray
1364
00:43:03,030 --> 00:43:04,110
the feel of
1365
00:43:04,710 --> 00:43:05,910
the environment.
1366
00:43:05,910 --> 00:43:10,470
And you can say there are mountains and there are hills and so on,
1367
00:43:10,470 --> 00:43:12,310
but it's not like you
1368
00:43:12,550 --> 00:43:14,470
driving an ICE car up
1369
00:43:14,550 --> 00:43:15,910
that mountain.
1370
00:43:16,310 --> 00:43:17,990
experience feeling
1371
00:43:18,790 --> 00:43:19,670
the nature.
1372
00:43:19,990 --> 00:43:22,430
So that gap is the biggest challenge.
1373
00:43:22,470 --> 00:43:24,070
Yeah, you can show it in videos,
1374
00:43:24,070 --> 00:43:25,270
you can show it in
1375
00:43:25,990 --> 00:43:26,830
images and so on,
1376
00:43:26,870 --> 00:43:32,150
but bringing the investor to Ras Al Khaimah to feel it for themselves is
1377
00:43:32,790 --> 00:43:33,590
what we need to
1378
00:43:33,790 --> 00:43:35,070
accomplish. Right.
1379
00:43:36,510 --> 00:43:37,110
If you had
1380
00:43:37,750 --> 00:43:38,310
$1 billion
1381
00:43:39,510 --> 00:43:40,310
in Iraq today,
1382
00:43:40,470 --> 00:43:41,430
but cannot
1383
00:43:41,510 --> 00:43:45,350
invest it in real estate or hotels or residential,
1384
00:43:45,950 --> 00:43:46,710
Where would you put it?
1385
00:43:49,910 --> 00:43:50,790
There's a lot of
1386
00:43:51,110 --> 00:43:53,110
possibilities, honestly.
1387
00:43:54,070 --> 00:43:57,030
Ras al-Khaimah will double in population
1388
00:43:57,750 --> 00:43:59,270
over the next five years.
1389
00:44:01,110 --> 00:44:01,750
I would
1390
00:44:01,910 --> 00:44:02,750
look at
1391
00:44:03,110 --> 00:44:06,230
sports. I would look at education,
1392
00:44:06,230 --> 00:44:08,070
boarding schools.
1393
00:44:08,150 --> 00:44:09,870
I would look at entertainment.
1394
00:44:14,550 --> 00:44:16,950
So these are the three areas that I think
1395
00:44:17,670 --> 00:44:19,030
will complement
1396
00:44:19,590 --> 00:44:21,550
lifestyle, would complement the
1397
00:44:21,590 --> 00:44:23,590
offering of nature and
1398
00:44:24,070 --> 00:44:25,750
the luxury and the beaches and so
1399
00:44:25,790 --> 00:44:27,670
on. I think
1400
00:44:27,990 --> 00:44:29,190
especially for
1401
00:44:29,230 --> 00:44:30,310
an age group like
1402
00:44:31,510 --> 00:44:33,750
teenagers, they need
1403
00:44:34,070 --> 00:44:34,710
outlets. They
1404
00:44:34,790 --> 00:44:37,270
need to be able to
1405
00:44:39,150 --> 00:44:39,950
Look forward to something.
1406
00:44:39,950 --> 00:44:41,310
Experience, enjoying
1407
00:44:41,350 --> 00:44:41,790
the feed
1408
00:44:41,990 --> 00:44:42,270
that we're
1409
00:44:42,390 --> 00:44:43,190
talking about.
1410
00:44:44,070 --> 00:44:45,190
So I think those are the
1411
00:44:45,350 --> 00:44:47,150
sectors I would look at.
1412
00:44:47,150 --> 00:44:49,590
There's a lot of industries that
1413
00:44:51,110 --> 00:44:51,590
are needed.
1414
00:44:52,190 --> 00:44:52,550
You know,
1415
00:44:52,990 --> 00:44:54,230
when you think of hotels,
1416
00:44:54,230 --> 00:44:54,950
you think of
1417
00:44:55,030 --> 00:44:56,390
supply chains for
1418
00:44:56,790 --> 00:44:58,550
the hospitality industry,
1419
00:44:58,950 --> 00:45:01,430
bakeries, laundry facilities,
1420
00:45:02,190 --> 00:45:02,550
you know,
1421
00:45:04,030 --> 00:45:07,110
All of the associated ancillary
1422
00:45:07,190 --> 00:45:08,950
businesses are businesses that
1423
00:45:09,270 --> 00:45:10,390
are worth investing in.
1424
00:45:10,870 --> 00:45:13,750
Right. And what do you think is
1425
00:45:13,910 --> 00:45:15,030
the biggest risk
1426
00:45:15,510 --> 00:45:17,830
for us on QMA in the next five years
1427
00:45:19,030 --> 00:45:20,470
that we're working on?
1428
00:45:20,630 --> 00:45:20,950
And of
1429
00:45:21,350 --> 00:45:23,030
course, you need to consider everything.
1430
00:45:25,030 --> 00:45:25,470
I think
1431
00:45:26,550 --> 00:45:30,070
balancing supply and demand is always a real estate
1432
00:45:30,310 --> 00:45:31,510
risk. And I think
1433
00:45:34,070 --> 00:45:35,590
Although that is a risk,
1434
00:45:35,590 --> 00:45:38,150
I think it's lesser a risk in Ras El Khima
1435
00:45:38,150 --> 00:45:41,590
because of the collaboration of the various entities and
1436
00:45:42,550 --> 00:45:43,190
the fact
1437
00:45:43,230 --> 00:45:45,590
that we're not siloed.
1438
00:45:45,750 --> 00:45:47,430
Everybody's talking to everybody.
1439
00:45:48,070 --> 00:45:49,110
I'll give you an example.
1440
00:45:49,350 --> 00:45:50,150
I wanted to
1441
00:45:50,310 --> 00:45:51,830
add a school at Mina
1442
00:45:52,150 --> 00:45:54,470
because I felt that having a school there
1443
00:45:55,150 --> 00:45:55,910
is very important.
1444
00:45:55,910 --> 00:45:56,230
But I
1445
00:45:56,470 --> 00:45:57,350
was told that
1446
00:45:57,670 --> 00:45:59,030
the developer next door
1447
00:45:59,590 --> 00:46:01,750
is actually building a premium school.
1448
00:46:01,750 --> 00:46:04,230
So think about that before you commit
1449
00:46:04,790 --> 00:46:05,950
200 million and
1450
00:46:06,350 --> 00:46:09,590
30,000 square metres for the school that you have in mind.
1451
00:46:09,790 --> 00:46:11,030
And so that
1452
00:46:11,110 --> 00:46:12,670
balance, that dialogue
1453
00:46:12,710 --> 00:46:14,390
that we have in Ras Al Khaimah
1454
00:46:16,150 --> 00:46:16,950
is a
1455
00:46:18,630 --> 00:46:19,430
huge risk,
1456
00:46:19,430 --> 00:46:21,110
but it's mitigated
1457
00:46:21,270 --> 00:46:23,110
with the communication that we have
1458
00:46:23,510 --> 00:46:24,350
in Ras Al Khaimah.
1459
00:46:26,390 --> 00:46:26,950
I think
1460
00:46:27,270 --> 00:46:29,350
another risk is the fact that
1461
00:46:29,430 --> 00:46:30,070
Ras al-Khaimah
1462
00:46:30,150 --> 00:46:31,990
in terms of developable
1463
00:46:32,070 --> 00:46:33,430
land is not
1464
00:46:33,510 --> 00:46:35,270
massive in scale
1465
00:46:35,750 --> 00:46:35,950
and the
1466
00:46:35,990 --> 00:46:37,110
beachfront is
1467
00:46:37,190 --> 00:46:41,270
limited. So I worry about
1468
00:46:41,910 --> 00:46:42,790
price growth,
1469
00:46:43,270 --> 00:46:44,630
but I expect that
1470
00:46:45,030 --> 00:46:47,590
we're going to see significant escalation
1471
00:46:48,310 --> 00:46:49,270
in values
1472
00:46:50,150 --> 00:46:51,590
of existing and
1473
00:46:51,910 --> 00:46:53,190
potentially future
1474
00:46:54,070 --> 00:46:54,790
real estate.
1475
00:46:56,390 --> 00:46:59,870
What do you wish people talked about when they talk about Ras Al Khaimah?
1476
00:47:01,910 --> 00:47:04,630
Nature, sustainability,
1477
00:47:06,150 --> 00:47:09,270
collaboration, proximity.
1478
00:47:09,750 --> 00:47:09,990
I mean,
1479
00:47:09,990 --> 00:47:11,830
one of the things I didn't mention here is
1480
00:47:12,150 --> 00:47:13,190
I live in Dubai
1481
00:47:13,230 --> 00:47:13,750
because I
1482
00:47:13,910 --> 00:47:14,870
own a house.
1483
00:47:15,190 --> 00:47:16,230
When I first came here,
1484
00:47:16,230 --> 00:47:17,270
I owned my own
1485
00:47:17,510 --> 00:47:18,390
property, so
1486
00:47:18,590 --> 00:47:19,950
it wasn't possible to own
1487
00:47:20,110 --> 00:47:21,590
another. I commute
1488
00:47:22,070 --> 00:47:22,870
on a daily basis
1489
00:47:23,070 --> 00:47:23,390
and I'm
1490
00:47:24,550 --> 00:47:25,830
close to the studios here.
1491
00:47:25,830 --> 00:47:27,510
It's literally one hour,
1492
00:47:27,910 --> 00:47:29,990
5 minutes maximum going in the morning.
1493
00:47:29,990 --> 00:47:30,750
From the airport,
1494
00:47:30,750 --> 00:47:31,710
it's 45 minutes.
1495
00:47:33,430 --> 00:47:35,110
Its proximity is
1496
00:47:35,510 --> 00:47:36,230
an unknown,
1497
00:47:36,230 --> 00:47:36,870
and I
1498
00:47:37,270 --> 00:47:38,630
think that's something that
1499
00:47:39,110 --> 00:47:39,830
once the
1500
00:47:39,910 --> 00:47:41,030
rail system
1501
00:47:41,070 --> 00:47:42,230
is developed further,
1502
00:47:42,270 --> 00:47:44,870
the marine transportation is developed further.
1503
00:47:45,510 --> 00:47:46,430
Air taxis,
1504
00:47:46,550 --> 00:47:47,110
that is,
1505
00:47:47,350 --> 00:47:47,830
I think
1506
00:47:47,910 --> 00:47:48,950
Ras al-Khima will play
1507
00:47:49,910 --> 00:47:50,510
a prominent
1508
00:47:50,550 --> 00:47:53,190
role in initiating air
1509
00:47:53,510 --> 00:47:55,830
taxis, that's going to make a
1510
00:47:56,310 --> 00:47:57,990
huge difference.
1511
00:47:58,870 --> 00:48:00,870
Amazing. And
1512
00:48:01,190 --> 00:48:02,790
finally, last question.
1513
00:48:03,910 --> 00:48:05,510
If we were sitting here again in
1514
00:48:05,590 --> 00:48:06,470
maybe the next
1515
00:48:06,630 --> 00:48:07,830
five, 10 years,
1516
00:48:08,790 --> 00:48:11,270
what would we need to see to say that
1517
00:48:11,670 --> 00:48:12,430
the Russell Kaima
1518
00:48:12,790 --> 00:48:16,110
development or Rack Properties development genuinely changed
1519
00:48:16,270 --> 00:48:16,790
the emirate?
1520
00:48:17,350 --> 00:48:20,950
Oh, look
1521
00:48:20,990 --> 00:48:21,830
at, again,
1522
00:48:21,910 --> 00:48:28,070
communities. Key to success of any developer,
1523
00:48:28,070 --> 00:48:29,270
key to success of
1524
00:48:30,150 --> 00:48:32,070
any family and lifestyle
1525
00:48:32,310 --> 00:48:36,710
is designing and tailoring
1526
00:48:37,110 --> 00:48:38,070
the community
1527
00:48:38,470 --> 00:48:40,070
that they will always want to
1528
00:48:40,310 --> 00:48:40,870
be in.
1529
00:48:41,750 --> 00:48:42,470
Taking care
1530
00:48:42,550 --> 00:48:43,510
of people's
1531
00:48:44,150 --> 00:48:46,110
desires, needs.
1532
00:48:47,990 --> 00:48:48,630
That is,
1533
00:48:48,750 --> 00:48:50,870
it's not an easy task,
1534
00:48:50,870 --> 00:48:51,550
but I'd
1535
00:48:51,830 --> 00:48:52,870
like to
1536
00:48:53,110 --> 00:48:54,470
look back and say we've done it.
1537
00:48:55,430 --> 00:48:56,870
I can see it happening now.
1538
00:48:57,430 --> 00:49:00,150
I see people moving in to Bay Residence
1539
00:49:00,190 --> 00:49:01,110
and Bay views and
1540
00:49:01,710 --> 00:49:02,470
they're amazed by
1541
00:49:02,950 --> 00:49:04,870
the quality of the product and the
1542
00:49:05,830 --> 00:49:07,830
amenities. You walk across
1543
00:49:08,710 --> 00:49:09,350
the beach,
1544
00:49:09,350 --> 00:49:10,070
the sandy beach,
1545
00:49:10,070 --> 00:49:11,230
to bar the port,
1546
00:49:11,350 --> 00:49:11,990
where you
1547
00:49:12,070 --> 00:49:12,550
can have
1548
00:49:12,590 --> 00:49:13,670
an amazing time.
1549
00:49:13,990 --> 00:49:15,030
There's nice music,
1550
00:49:15,030 --> 00:49:16,150
there's great food.
1551
00:49:16,950 --> 00:49:18,070
You can walk next door to
1552
00:49:18,150 --> 00:49:19,670
the Intercontinental
1553
00:49:19,990 --> 00:49:22,310
Hotel. Tasha's is opening
1554
00:49:22,350 --> 00:49:23,590
before the end of the year.
1555
00:49:23,990 --> 00:49:25,470
Hunter and Barrel is open.
1556
00:49:26,310 --> 00:49:28,310
So that
1557
00:49:29,190 --> 00:49:30,950
curating the lifestyle,
1558
00:49:31,190 --> 00:49:31,510
I think,
1559
00:49:31,510 --> 00:49:32,430
is what I'd love to
1560
00:49:32,470 --> 00:49:32,950
look at
1561
00:49:32,990 --> 00:49:34,310
and say we've done it right.
1562
00:49:35,830 --> 00:49:36,310
All right.
1563
00:49:36,390 --> 00:49:37,270
Anything else to say,
1564
00:49:37,270 --> 00:49:39,430
Benoit? I think we've pretty much covered
1565
00:49:39,750 --> 00:49:40,550
most of it.
1566
00:49:41,350 --> 00:49:42,150
We did,
1567
00:49:42,150 --> 00:49:44,070
and I'm so grateful for
1568
00:49:45,670 --> 00:49:48,230
your openness in sharing all of this.
1569
00:49:48,630 --> 00:49:49,390
I think we've
1570
00:49:49,510 --> 00:49:50,150
learned a lot
1571
00:49:51,030 --> 00:49:52,430
about what is going
1572
00:49:52,470 --> 00:49:54,070
on in Raz Al Khemah,
1573
00:49:54,550 --> 00:49:56,350
and I think the values that you've shared
1574
00:49:56,470 --> 00:49:57,430
around this table
1575
00:49:58,310 --> 00:49:59,510
are key to
1576
00:49:59,590 --> 00:50:00,390
market growth.
1577
00:50:00,430 --> 00:50:02,390
When you were talking about collaboration,
1578
00:50:02,830 --> 00:50:03,710
we were talking about
1579
00:50:04,390 --> 00:50:05,670
thinking about the people
1580
00:50:06,790 --> 00:50:09,990
I think that is something that we'd like to hear.
1581
00:50:10,710 --> 00:50:11,950
And it's not
1582
00:50:11,990 --> 00:50:12,630
hearing it,
1583
00:50:12,710 --> 00:50:13,430
we're seeing it.
1584
00:50:13,950 --> 00:50:14,270
We're seeing
1585
00:50:14,350 --> 00:50:15,110
it in the numbers,
1586
00:50:15,110 --> 00:50:15,750
we're seeing it
1587
00:50:16,310 --> 00:50:17,510
in where it goes.
1588
00:50:19,110 --> 00:50:20,550
So I want to thank you for that.
1589
00:50:20,710 --> 00:50:21,830
I think this was really
1590
00:50:22,030 --> 00:50:22,710
interesting. I
1591
00:50:23,030 --> 00:50:23,310
want to
1592
00:50:23,390 --> 00:50:23,790
thank you
1593
00:50:23,830 --> 00:50:24,110
for the
1594
00:50:24,150 --> 00:50:26,470
opportunity. We have
1595
00:50:26,550 --> 00:50:27,190
a gem of
1596
00:50:28,150 --> 00:50:28,950
an Emirates
1597
00:50:28,990 --> 00:50:31,750
and always a pleasure to promote it.
1598
00:50:32,950 --> 00:50:35,430
Explain more about what's happening there.
1599
00:50:35,790 --> 00:50:37,710
Yeah, now it's making me want to go to Russell Hammer this week.
1600
00:50:37,710 --> 00:50:39,030
Let's go.
1601
00:50:39,190 --> 00:50:39,550
All right,
1602
00:50:39,550 --> 00:50:40,150
let's go.
1603
00:50:40,390 --> 00:50:40,710
Thank you,
1604
00:50:40,710 --> 00:50:41,510
Sammy, again.
1605
00:50:41,590 --> 00:50:44,390
And if you liked our conversation today,
1606
00:50:44,550 --> 00:50:45,510
be sure to tune in,
1607
00:50:45,510 --> 00:50:46,110
like, share,
1608
00:50:46,110 --> 00:50:48,470
and subscribe on all of our social media channels.
1609
00:50:48,870 --> 00:50:49,510
As always,
1610
00:50:49,510 --> 00:50:50,230
stay tuned,
1611
00:50:50,550 --> 00:50:51,150
stay informed,
1612
00:50:51,150 --> 00:50:51,550
stay ahead,
1613
00:50:51,550 --> 00:50:51,950
and I'll
1614
00:50:51,990 --> 00:50:52,310
see you
1615
00:50:52,390 --> 00:50:53,230
in the next episode.