It’s A Rich Man’s World!                                     26 December 2025

For the penultimate week of 2025, total real estate transactions touched 4.23k, with a total sales value of US$ 3.84 billion, with an average price per sq ft of US$ 490. New projects launched included Damac Islands 2 – Tahiti 2, (Al Yelayiss 1), Palace Residences Hillside B, (Hadaeq Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid), and Silviana Park Living, (Al Barsha South Fifth). Meanwhile Binghatti dominated the off-plan apartments sector, with Vintage, Titania and Amberhall, followed by Breez by Danube and Empire Lake Views, with respective sales of one hundred and thirty-five, one hundred and two, seventy-five, sixty-four and fifty-two; prices per sq ft were US$ 518, US$ 490, US$ 463, US$ 954 and US$ 409. In the off-plan villa sector the leading five were The Valley, (six sales) Anya, (5), Wadi Al Safa 3, (4), The Acres (4) and South Bay, (4) with prices per sq ft of US$ 518, US$ 463, US$ 817, US$ 381 and US$ 327.

Mashriq Elite Real Estate Developments has officially started construction on its inaugural residential project in Dubai Islands – ‘Floarea Breeze’; the waterfront development will feature forty-eight luxury apartments and four exclusive townhouses. It will comprise a range of twelve one B/R, twenty-four two B/R and twelve three B/R apartments, with prices starting at US$ 490k; completion is slated for Q3 2027. It will feature an impressive Grand Lobby, elegant designer corridors, apartments with floor-to-ceiling Italian tiles, premium wood finishes, and integrated smart home technology. ‘Floarea Breeze’ is the developer’s sixth residential project in Dubai, and it has a pipeline of more than 1.2k new residential apartments. (According to Dubai Land Department, in H1, Dubai Islands – which spans seventeen sq km – posted over 2k sales transactions, totalling US$ 1.66 billion. The total development will add more than twenty km of beachfront to the city, and is expected to have over eighty luxury hotels, as well as golf courses, retail destinations, and exclusive properties).

NBCC (India) Ltd has made its initial investment into the Dubai property market, with a US$ 4.1 million investment, in Dubai Mainland.  Although a relatively small investment, it marks a   rare overseas real estate investment, by an Indian state-owned firm, whilst signalling a shift toward global diversification; it will be developed as a mixed-use project. No further details were readily available. The Indian company’s business includes project management consultancy, engineering and real estate development and this move into an overseas market will allow it to pursue work in markets, with strong investor demand and deeper global capital flows. It joins other Indian-related developers such as Sobha Group, already with multiple projects in Dubai, Sunteck Realty, which has recently announced developments valued at more than US$ 4.00 billion, over the next three years, and Casagrand who have launched in Dubai Islands. It is expected that other Indian companies will join the bandwagon in the coming months because of the emirate’s clearer regulations, faster project approvals and stable demand from global buyers; in addition, Indians remain the Dubai’s biggest expatriate group of property investors.

Reports show that Brazil’s footballer, Vinícius Júnior, has acquired a landmark penthouse from Tiger Properties at the prestigious Tiger Sky Tower, located in the heart of Business Bay. His penthouse has a complete three-hundred-and-sixty-degree panoramic view of the city, including a direct sighting of the Burj Khalifa. It features expansive floor-to-ceiling windows and generous interiors. This acquisition further reflects the growing preference of elite athletes, and international personalities, to select Dubai as their home and investment destination.

This week, Prestige One Developments unveiled ‘Hilton Residences Dubai Maritime City’ – the world’s first Hilton-branded standalone waterfront residential development.

YTD figures show that there has been a 31.0% surge in Dubai property sales value to US$ 185.23 billion, with sales volume 18.0% higher at 213.1k; average price per sq ft came in 8.0% higher, at US$ 463.

According to ValuStrat, average freehold villa values in Dubai are now 206% higher than post-pandemic levels, but still only 86% above the 2014 market zenith. Villas tend to lead in the price rise market, but it appears that apartments are fast catching up. ValuStrat data shows annual capital growth for villas reached 25.5% in 2025, placing them firmly ahead of apartments for another year. However, apartments have surpassed their 2014 peak for the first time. It appears that mid-market communities – including the likes of The Greens, Remraam and Silicon Oasis – continue to post stronger price rises, driven by demand from both sectors of the market – end users and investors. In the villa sector, established prime location, such as Jumeirah Islands, Palm Jumeirah, The Meadows and Mudon have shown the biggest price increases in that sector; the two main attributes are their mature infrastructure and no new supply. At the top end of the market, there is no surprise to see the likes of Palm Jumeirah, Dubai Hills Estate, Al Barari, and Downtown Dubai continuing to attract global buyers. Dubai’s ultra-prime segment continues to defy global trends. In Q3 alone, one hundred and three homes sold for more than US$ 10 million, generating transaction values above US$ 2 billion – a 54% annual increase. As we approach a new year – and after five years of continuing quarterly growth – there are market concerns that there could be a downturn in 2026. This blog opines that growth – albeit slower – will continue in 2026 and any market adjustment may have to wait another year.

Continuing in a prime position as one of the leading global economies, the UAE has continued the trend in H1, with non-oil foreign trade 24.5% higher, (almost fourteen times the global average), to US$ 46.32 billion. The main drivers behind the impressive trade figures have not changed much, being its strong non-oil sectors, robust foreign/domestic investment, pro-business regulation and a flexible regulatory environment. Last year, the UN Conference on Trade and Development World Investment Report 2025 ranked the UAE tenth for inbound foreign direct investment, at US$ 45.67 billion, whilst the IMF recently raised its 2025 forecast  growth figure,  for the nation, to 4.8%, with all three global agencies – Fitch, Moody’s and S&P Global – maintaining their sovereign ratings, citing strong economic performance and sound fiscal policy. By the end of Q3, the Central Bank posted increases in both gross banks’ assets, to US$ 1.417 trillion, and gross credit to US$ 675.42 billion. Real GDP grew at an annual 4.2% to US$ 253.17 billion in H1 2025. Non-oil GDP rose 5.7% to US$ 196.18 billion, accounting for 77.5% of real GDP, while oil activity contributed the 22.5% balance. Earlier in the month, the 2026 Federal Budget, at US$ 25.18 billion, (the largest ever), was approved by the Cabinet, along with the National Investment Strategy 2031.  This included twelve programmes and thirty initiatives, with twin aims of raising both the annual foreign investment inflows and UAE’s total foreign investment stock by 114% to US$ 65.40 billion and by 275%, to aim at raising annual foreign investment inflows from US$ 30.52 billion in 2023 to US$ 60.00 billion by 2031. During the period, the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology signed five memoranda of understanding, with national banks to provide more than US$ 10.90 billion in financing. The Cabinet also approved the establishment of the National Investment Fund, with an initial capital of US$ 10.0 billion, and approved the UAE Strategy for Islamic Finance and Halal Industry to strengthen the country’s position as a global hub. Over 220k new companies were registered YTD, to 30 November, along with 36k new trademarks.

China’s AWOT Global Logistics Corporation opened its new regional headquarters this week at Dubai Airport Freezone, enhancing the emirate’s standing as a global logistics hub. AWOT is ranked ninth in the world, with 780k metric tonnes of cargo in 2025, and operates fifty-five self-run sites across China, Hong Kong and SE Asia, along with more than three hundred agents in one hundred countries. Its HQ employs some 1.5k staff and operates 1.8k charter flights from Asia to the US, Latin America, Europe, the ME, and back. The DAFZ connection will utilise DXB’s proximity to gain supply chain dominance in the ME, Africa and Europe.

This week, the Dubai Free Zones Council, chaired by Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, held its thirty-third meeting to discuss key priorities, aimed at boosting Dubai’s business environment. The agenda covered many items including strengthening government cooperation, enhancing regulatory readiness, and improving investor experience across free zones. It also explored ways to streamline procedures and integrate efforts for greater ease of doing business, as it reviewed plans to connect all free zones, supporting efficiency and competitiveness. Further discussions included the introduction of an ‘Events Visa’ and the Dubai Cashless Strategy, reinforcing the emirate’s push toward a fully digital payment ecosystem.

Following the results of a finding by the Central Bank of the UAE, the licence of Omda Exchange has been revoked and it has been banned from operating in the UAE; in addition, it has been struck off the Register and has been fined US$ 2.72 million. The penalties, in line with the Decretal Federal Regarding the Central Bank and Organisation of Financial Institutions and Activities, and its amendments, were the result of the findings, which revealed failures and violations of the Central Bank Law and related regulations by the Exchange House.

The DFM opened the week on Monday 22 December on 6,114 points, and having gained two hundred and seventy-seven points, (4.7%), the previous three weeks, was twenty points, (0.3%), higher to close the week on 6,134 points, by 26 December 2025. Emaar Properties, US$ 0.10 lower the previous fortnight, gained US$ 0.13 to close on US$ 3.90 by the end of the week. DEWA, Emirates NBD, DIB and DFM started the previous week on US$ 0.77 US$ 7.85, US$ 2.56 and US$ 0.47 and closed on US$ 0.76, US$ 7.89, US$ 2.60 and US$ 0.45. On 26 December, trading was at one hundred and seventy-two million shares, with a value of US$ fifty-two million dollars, compared to three hundred and sixty-nine million shares, with a value of US$ three hundred and thirty-one million dollars, on 19 December.

By 26 December 2025, Brent, US$ 3.70 (5.8%) lower the previous fortnight, gained US$ 1.09, (1.8%), to close on US$ 61.19. Gold, US$ 217 (5.2%) higher the previous fortnight, gained US$ 194 (4.4%), to end the week’s trading at another record US$ 4,537 on 26 December. Silver was trading at a record US$ 66.75 – US$ 9.64 (18.1%) higher on the week.  

BP has sold a 65% stake in its motor oil division for a reported US$ 6.0 billion, in a cash deal, to New York-based investment firm, Stonepeak; the deal values Castrol at US$ 10.1 billion. The energy giant will use the money to pay down debts, with the sale allowing it to focus on its core business. BP will hold onto a 35% stake in Castrol, which it first took control of in 2000. After closing the deal, BP commented that it was over halfway to meeting that target and is also moving away from green energy investment to concentrate more on oil and gas on the back of pressure from some investors, concerned that its profits and share price had lagged rivals. In recent months, the London-based energy giant had divested its US onshore wind energy business and its Dutch mobility and convenience arm; it aims to rid itself of US$ 20 billion worth of ‘non-important’ assets by 2027. After investors showed their displeasure, about the progress BP was making under its chief executive Murray Auchincloss, who had only been in the position for less than two years, it was announced that Meg O’Neill, the head of Australia’s Woodside Energy since 2021, would take over the position.

On the back of Donald Trump finally allowing the export of advanced chips – in exchange for a 25% fee – Chinese clients have been advised by Nivida that it expects to ship its second -most powerful chips, (from existing stock), before the Lunar New Year holiday in February. Total shipments are expected to total up to 10k chip modules – equivalent to about 40k to 80k H200 AI chips. Furthermore, it relayed news that it would be adding new production capacity for the chips, with orders for that capacity opening in Q2 2026. It is estimated that these chips will provide the likes of Alibaba and ByteDance with processing capabilities up to six times greater than currently available solutions. Beijing is reportedly reviewing the matter cautiously amid concerns that an influx of US chips could slow the pace of development of the domestic industry.

An agreement has been signed by  TikTok’s Chinese owners, ByteDance, to allow a consortium of US and international investors to operate its business in the US; the ownership split will be 19.9% for the Chinese company, with the 80.1% balance for the remaining investors – 45%  assigned to Oracle, Silver Lake and the Emirati investment firm MGX., each with 15%, and another 30.1% will be held by affiliates of existing ByteDance investors. TikTok commented that the deal would enable “over one hundred and seventy million Americans to continue discovering a world of endless possibilities as part of a vital global community”. The agreement ensured that TikTok’s recommendation algorithm will be set to be retrained on US user data to ensure feeds are free from external manipulation. The news will be well received by the more than seven million small businesses which market their products and services on TikTok in the US.

Citing that its main Kentucky site for production will remain closed throughout 2026, Japan’s Suntory Global Spirts said that Jim Beam will takes “the opportunity to invest in site enhancements.” The maker of Jim Beam bourbon whiskey, which employs 1k, confirmed that its other operations in the state, including a separate distillery and its bottling and warehousing plants, would continue to run next year. The visitor centre in Kentucky also remains open. It is in discussions with the workers’ union on how best to use its workforce during the production pause. 

In October, the Kentucky Distillers’ Association posted that the amount of bourbon in warehouses across the state was at a record high sixteen million barrels. So far this year, Kentucky distillers have had to pay state tax of “a crushing” US$ 75 million and have also faced retaliatory import taxes on their goods because of the Trump tariffs. The KDA is calling for a “for a speedy return to reciprocal, tariff-free trade”.

A bad December for England cricket captain Ben Stokes after losing the first three Ashes test matches, (and the series), in Australia, was made worse by reports that a chain of cricket-based venues, that he reportedly backed, had collapsed into administration. ‘Sixes’, with sixteen cricket-themed entertainment venues across England, said “challenging” trading had caused its closure. All but one venue, Southampton, will stay open whilst it looks for a rescue deal. FRP Advisory, appointed as administrators, said they were talking with “a number of interested parties about a sale”.

Reports indicate that LK Bennett could be heading for collapse for the second time in six years. The clothing chain, launched by Linda Bennett in 1990, has appointed Alvarez & Marsal as its advisers, who have been testing the market for potential buyers/investors. Its halcyon days of having two hundred outlets in the UK and overseas, (including China, Russia and the US), have long gone, and is now down to just nine standalone stores, with a further thirteen listed as concessions on its website. Byland UK, formed by Rebecca Feng, who ran LK Bennett’s Chinese franchises, owns the brand that registered a 2024 post-tax loss of US$ 4.7 million on turnover of US$ 57 million – 13.7% lower on the year. In 2008, the owner sold her business to a consortium for some US$ 135 million but retained a stake before buying back the remaining equity in 2017.

Several UK High Street banks are in in line to take over the wealth management group, Evelyn Partners, in a US$ 3.37 billion takeover battle; they include the two front runners, Barclays and NatWest Group, along with Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds Banking Group among several other private equity firms. Latest figures indicate that Evelyn Partners had assets under management worth US$ 87.12 billion, at the end of last June.  The finance company is owned by the private equity firms Permira and Warburg Pincus, having merged their respective firms, Tilney and Smith & Williamson, in 2020; last year, Evelyn’s professional services arm was sold to the buyout firm Apax Partners.

In the first eleven months of the year, China’s nine mainland cities in the Greater Bay Area posted a 4.6% hike in total imports and exports of a record US$ 1.18 trillion. These key regions include the Yangtze River Delta, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region. 70% of the trade involved mechanical and electrical products, with exports dominated by high-tech goods such as electronic components, computers and related parts, and by imports of production materials, (including integrated circuits and semiconductor manufacturing equipment), whilst imported consumer goods, such as aquatic and dairy products, surged by over 20%. Interestingly, there was an 11.0% rise in two-way trade with Belt and Road partner countries, with the total import and export value of the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region reaching US$ 611.8 billion.

In the first twenty days of the month, Korea’s exports grew 6.8% on the year, driven by strong global demand for semiconductors. Data from the Korea Customs Service posted that outbound shipments reached US$ 43 billion, between 01 to 20 December, compared with US$ 40 billion posted over the same period last year; this marks an all-time high for the period, with the previous record being set last year.  Chip exports jumped 41.8%, on the year, to US$ 11.65 billion, accounting for 27.1% of the country’s total exports during the cited period. Shipments of cars dropped 12.7% to US$ 3.25 billion, and petroleum exports contracted 1.0% to US$ 2.63 billion. Imports nudged 0.7% higher, on the year, to US$ 39.2 billion, resulting in a trade surplus of US$ 3.8 billion. In November, exports grew 8.4%, from a year earlier, to US$ 61 billion, marking the sixth consecutive monthly increase on the back of strong demand for semiconductors.

Q3 saw the US economy growing 0.5%, on the quarter, to 4.3% – posting its strongest growth in two years, attributable to increases in consumer spending and exports. This comes at a time when the economy, and trade in particular, has been impacted, one way or another, by a quad-whammy of Trump tariffs, dramatic changes to the US immigration policies, government spending cuts and sticky inflation. If nothing else, the US economy can be described as being resilient, whilst performing better than most other developed nations, and has been helped by a 1.0% quarterly increase in consumer spending, to a very respectable 3.5%, despite a slowing job market. There was no surprise to see imports continuing their declining trend because of the wave of new taxes pushing prices higher, but this was partly offset from a 7.4% hike in exports, driven by defence outlays. There has been a marked slowdown in business investment, including in intellectual property, along with a weakening housing sector, still being hit by high interest rates and supply constraints. Whether this mini surge will continue into 2026 is still conjecture, with signs of inflation levels nudging higher and households cutting back on spending, as the labour market continues to weaken.

The year is to end how it started, with yet another U-turn announced by the embattled Keir Starmer who has decided, because of increasing concern from some Labour backbenchers, to increase the threshold on inherited farmland by 150% to US$ 3.38 million from US$ 1.35 million. At the Chancellor’s first budget, in October 2024, a 20% tax on inherited agricultural assets, worth more than US$ 1.35 million, was introduced to start from April 2026, ending the 100% tax relief that had been in place since the 1980s. The Prime Minister has left it to one of his underlings to explain why the change happened, with Environment Secretary, Emma Reynolds saying, “we have listened closely to farmers across the country and we are making changes today to protect more ordinary family farms”, and “it’s only right that larger estates contribute more, while we back the farms and trading businesses that are the backbone of Britain’s rural communities”. Among his U-turns, this year, have been his government easing cuts to winter fuel payments and then reversing plans to make US$ 6.75 billion of cuts to the welfare bill. Most of the U-turns were made solely on political grounds – usually opposition within his own party – after the Chancellor had espoused economic reasons for their introduction.

Latest data from the Office for National Statistics indicated that the Q3 UK economy only managed to nudge 0.1% higher, (compared to a revised 0.2% in the previous quarter), and badly impacted by the Jaguar Land Rover September cyberattack which nullified car production for weeks and was the main reason for falls in production; growth in services partly offset some of those falls. A worrying statistics saw the UK population saving less in Q3, with the household saving ratio dipping 0.7% to 9.5% – the lowest in a year; household disposable income per head also declined by 0.8%. The ONS forecast zero GDP growth in Q4 – a sad state of affairs following the UK having had the best growth figures among the ​G7 economies in H1. One of the factors for this turnaround was long-running uncertainty about tax increases in the run up to the chancellor’s late November budget. The ONS now sees Q4 growth at 0.3%, (up from its initial 0.1% rise).

Following a court decision to restore his long-disputed compensation package, by reinstating his Tesla stock options valued at US$ 139 billion, Elon Musk has become the first person to amass a net worth exceeding US$ 700 billion; his value currently stands at US$ 749 billion. The ruling restored his 2018 pay package at Tesla, which was once valued at US$ 56 billion before a lower court struck it down as “unfathomable”. At the beginning of the week, prior to the decision, he had become the first person to be worth more than US$ 600 billion, driven by reports that his aerospace venture SpaceX was likely to pursue an initial public offering. Last month, Tesla shareholders approved a compensation package of more than US$ 1.0 billion, subject to him transforming the EV maker into a leader in AI and robotics. The rest of the billionaire club have been left well behind, with the nearest being Larry Page, some US$ 500 billion behind, according to Forbes. It’s A Rich Man’s World!