In fact taking that bizarre concept a stage further, while information neither transacts as ingots nor is it shipped via container ports, those that consolidate and trade decision critical data could be regarded as being in the import/export business. This is certainly an accurate analogy in the case of CB Richard Ellis Middle East. As the leading global commercial property advisory, their mission critical research network flows flawlessly in both , to the ultimate strategic benefit of expanding corporates, institutional funds and high end individual investors.

In this instance, with a representative trip to MIPIM, accurately dubbed the world´s property market, held in Cannes, France from the 11th to the 14th March, CBRE are out in force from all corners of the empire. Nick Maclean, Managing Director of CBRE Middle East will of course be there, for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) commercial real estate market has become a hyper-demand investment home. Whilst immediate supply is still the burning issue of the day, there is vast square metreage in the pipeline with Dubai at the forefront of production. Circa 247,000 square metres of fresh office space came to the Dubai market alone in Quarter 4 of 2007 and with the exception of stock within TECOM zones, all of the new inventory announced was designated as Freehold.

The continuing economic gremlins that are haunting the United States, with interest rates set to fall still further, a dollar in descent and the overspill of discomfort felt in European performance have in truth served the UAE property market well in every asset class. Not so beneficial in an inflationary sense, but nevertheless, as composite regulation rolls out to the satisfaction of world market watchers and the increase in levels of both capital gain and rental show no sign of diluting, the Emirates emerges as a highly viable proposition from a European perspective. The majority of key investment players will of course be assembled at MIPIM and, in the current climate, hungrily in search of opportunities in an environment where the economic indicators do not adhere to the pattern that currently besets traditional markets. Enter the Middle East and the UAE and Dubai in particular exhibiting office rental rises in excess of 40 per cent over the past year and rental yields often in the high teens.

We have of course seen much investment activity stemming from our region as investors take advantage of weakening performance in the North America and European sectors with the rapid placement of the contents of oil revenue swollen coffers for the longer haul. CBRE are also of course capably industrious in their assistance to cross border investment in the opposite direction. This particular activity now covers most points of the compass within the advisory´s established global network.

Mr. Maclean has undoubtedly much endearing ammunition in his portmanteau as he expounds the positive benefits of a serious step into such a prolific market. As more and more major organisations arrive in town to elevate for example Dubai´s external profile, coupled with the implementation of the Escrow system and the recent release of the Condominium law via the Real Estate Regulatory Agency plus the emergence of Dubai´s Strategic Plan 2015, the substance of CBRE´s underpinning lobby has reached new and persuasive heights. As the components of a vast and visionary CBD and annexes thereof unfold, a combined total office stock of 330,000 square metres in new developments located at Downtown Jebel Ali and Business Bay has become a magnetic market force. As shifting attitudes at MIPIM take account of the changing face of the Middle East and Asian commercial property sector, the ambassadorial mantle becomes an exceptionally influential factor.

´Yes we can see what´s happening at some distance, however we need to get in and amongst the research detail,´ is the anticipated request. At which juncture the CB Richard Ellis data banks at Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) launch into a commando roll and begin to disgorge a significant array of substantive facts, figures and pragmatic conclusions to meet the forward planning criteria of any given client. However, it is patently obvious at a broad brush stroke glance that, in the words of the firm´s latest market review; ´The buoyant sentiment surrounding Dubai’s exceptional real estate market growth was still evident during the last quarter of 2007, as intensive efforts to enhance Dubai’s overall image in terms of global leadership positioning continue with horizontal and vertical sector expansions across the emirate.´

Therefore, the evidence advancing at pace toward MIPIM´s intensive cross border investment forum is irrefutable. Sale prices for office accommodation situated in the Freezone area of Dubai´s Downtown Jebel Ali district stood between AED 10,764 and 12,900 per square metre, while their freehold equivalent in Business Bay occupied a range of AED 15,070 to 20,450 per square metre, clearly indicative of acutely focused transactional activity. In terms of the office leasing market, the prevailing rental rate bands at close of Q4 were equally inspiring: TECOM zones reflected the AED 2,475 to 2,800 per square metre positioning, rising somewhat at Jumeirah Lake Towers into the AED 2,690 to 2,900 per square metre range, both handsome propositions but somewhat overshadowed by the glory that is the kernel of the Central Business District in the shape of DIFC to the princely rate of AED 4100 per square metre. Convert these figures at 3.67 AED to the dollar and you have the sort of numbers that the cross border brigade, in more northerly climes, want to hear.

Undoubtedly a working week in Cannes will prove a busy period for Nick and Equipe CBRE, for considering current global positioning of the Middle East commercial market, the only direction it can take right now is up. All I have cause to question: is a week long enough to address the volume of interest and will the IT infrastructure bear up under the burden of endless enquiry. Bon voyage.