Nomura extends US$100m private loan to Dubai luxury builder
NOMURA is providing a US$100 million loan to a development project run by Dubai-based Omniyat, people familiar with the matter said, joining other global lenders that are increasingly looking for dealmaking opportunities in the Middle East.
The debt will be provided to one of Omniyat’s ultra-luxury projects in Dubai, according to the people, who asked not to be identified as the information is private. It will mark the Japanese bank’s first real estate transaction in the Middle East.
Nomura declined to comment. The firm has earmarked about US$1 billion of its own balance sheet to compete with private credit funds for deals globally. That strategy will include lending to private equity-backed companies, as well as providing more complex forms of debt such as mezzanine finance.
A spokesperson for Omniyat said the firm routinely explores financing options. “We have full confidence in the long-term strength of the United Arab Emirates’ economy and real estate market, as evidenced by our significant ongoing investments and signature projects in the real estate landscape,” the privately-held firm said in an e-mailed statement.
Dubai’s property market has boomed amid a surge in interest from the world’s wealthiest people, who’ve flocked to the city in recent years. Prices for luxury real estate are expected to rise 5 per cent this year, according to Knight Frank, well above the firm’s forecasts for London and New York.
Nomura’s loan to Omniyat comes as global credit firms and investment banks ramp up efforts to seek opportunities to finance companies in the Middle East.
Citigroup last year provided US$500 million in financing to a subsidiary of Astra Tech, marking one of the largest single financing facilities secured by a UAE-based fintech firm.
In neighbouring Saudi Arabia, buy-now-pay-later firm Tabby secured a US$700 million asset-backed credit loan from JPMorgan Chase in 2023. Its peer, Tamara, has secured a debt facility from Goldman Sachs.
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