UAE banks raising exposure to property market

[DUBAI] Banks in the United Arab Emirates are increasing exposure to the country's booming real estate industry betting that, five years after property values slumped and non-performing loans soared, this time it will be different.

Lending to the construction segment climbed 40 per cent to 181 billion dirhams (S$61.91 billion) in 2013, according to the latest central bank data, the most since 2008 when loans jumped 81 per cent. Emaar Malls Group, a unit of Emaar Properties, raised a US$1.5 billion Isl…