Japanese Fintech Blockchain firm and Al Fardan Ventures join hands to digitize real estate investment in MENA

Japanese Fintech Blockchain firm and Al Fardan Ventures join hands to digitize real estate investment in MENA

Japanese Fintech firm and UAE Al Fardan ventures have partnered to launch a blockchain real estate investment platform.  Japanese Fintech startup, Canaan Advisors and UAE Al Fardan Ventures have partnered to introduce Canaan Advisors’ Zenihub platform, a blockchain blockchain-based real estate investment platform that focuses on fractionalizing properties in emerging markets to the UAE. 

The venture will be led by Mr. Mohammed Ebrahim Al Fardan, a global technology leader from the Arab world with more than 33 years of experience, spanning from major multinational technology firms to investment firms, and with a strong and solid global network in gaming, artificial intelligence, Mixed Reality, FinTech, Blockchain, Internet-of-Things, and metaverse.

Tokumasa Yamashita, Founder of Canaan Advisors, stated, “There are lots of attractive real estate investment opportunities in the MENA region that are only accessible by a small group of extremely wealthy investors. We look forward to unlocking these investment opportunities and making them accessible to people of all income levels!” said Yamashita.

Yamashita adds, “Our vision is to make high-yielding real estate investment opportunities in emerging markets easily accessible to anyone. Our partnership with Mohammed E. Al Fardan enables us to enter the MENA market and expand our global footprint, and we are very excited about this opportunity

Said Mohammed E. Al Fardan explained, “Digitizing Real Estate assets has always been an important element in my plans, those who read my articles will remember that. It is time to make the MENA region a major global player in the industry. We will be revolutionizing the real estate investment market enabling everyone to invest in real estate project by digitizing the assets.”

UAE blockchain enterprise entity bags Pakistan New City deal

UAE blockchain enterprise entity bags Pakistan New City deal

UAE based Blockchain enterprise, Shaariq.com, an end-to-end real estate platform of Vision Tech has partnered with Pakistan-headquartered JK&S Developers, a real estate arm of the renowned Saif Group. to facilitate sales in JK&S Developers’ highly anticipated project D.I. Khan New City.

Shaariq.com will leverage its enterprise blockchain capabilities to ensure secure, transparent, and seamless transactions. Shaariq.com will also ensure D.I. Khan New City becomes an early mover in adopting blockchain at an enterprise level. Shaariq.com will create a digital twin of the project in the metaverse to enable efficient urban planning and optimize the delivery of public services such as healthcare and groceries. NFT linked transactions on the blockchain will bring greater security, transferability, and future readiness. D.I. Khan New City will also characterize AR-VR and AI applications on multiple fronts.

Dubbed the “Crown of Pakistan”, the D.I. Khan New City is a hybrid development in Saiduwali, Paharpur, an area with close proximity to Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, and Balochistan. The development, which spans an expansive area of 4.1 million sq. m, is valued at a whopping $233 million U.S., making it one of the most ambitious projects of its kind in Pakistan.

Rajab Ali Virani, CEO of Vision Tech stated,  “Shaariq.com ventured into Pakistan with a grand vision: Enhancing transactional efficiency and reducing the trust deficit by leveraging cutting-edge technologies such as blockchain. D.I. Khan New City is the ideal avenue to turn that vision into reality. We are determined to make this project an archetype of Pakistan’s real estate excellence while reinforcing our competitive edge in tech-enabled services.”

 “The Saif Group has nearly a hundred years of multi-industrial pedigree in Pakistan. At every juncture, we have exemplified the latest innovations of the time. D.I. Khan New City is a totem of our future-proof strategy and a legacy of our people-centric worldview. The MoU with Shaariq.com complements both these priorities,” said Jehangir Saifullah Khan, Chairman, JK&S Developers. 

Vision Tech is planning an expansion into African countries, where, through Shaariq.com, it intends to digitalize land records with the support of local authorities.

KSA Property developer issues NFTs for its Oman project

KSA Property developer issues NFTs for its Oman project

KSA’s Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Developer will drop a limited number of utility NFTs ( Non  fungible tokens) for its Oman AIDA project. The comments were made in an interview with AGBI media.

The $1.6 billion project AIDA, is the largest premium, mixed-use urban developments in Oman. It is a partnership between Dar Al Arkan and the Oman Tourism Development Company (OMRAN Group) to drive the development of the Gulf state’s property market and support the growth of Oman’s real estate sector as part of Oman Vision 2040.

Ziad El Chaar, vice chairman of Dar Al Arkan Real Estate Development, said in the interview, “We are dropping 500 NFTs in the middle of October, which are utility tokens for our project AIDA in Oman.  If you are a holder of that NFT, you have a priority in booking in any launch of the project. This has a lot of value.

He added that those who booked in Dar Al Arkan Pagani project in December made 25 percent profit as prices went up.

The NFT will also give holders other advantages in the development, such as priority booking at hotels or at the golf club.

Located in the Yiti area of Muscat, overlooking the Sea of Oman, the project will feature 3,500 residential units of medium-sized villas, townhouses and low-rise apartments, two hotels, a plaza filled with cafes and restaurants, and a gated promenade with luxury retail and other amenities.

The project will be developed in three stages, on an area of 3.5 million square metres, and marks Dar Al Arkan’s first entry into Oman.

El Chaar stressed that while tokens continue to attract hype and sell for large sums, they must have utility. He explained, “Most NFTs [are like] ‘I’m Snoop Dogg [and] I’m launching an NFT’, [or] you have some fashion brands that launched NFTs. Our NFT has a utility and it can be redeemed. And at any time if you say I don’t want this token anymore, you can put it as a down payment on an apartment or a villa. We will redeem it for you for a purchase.”

Stratez Capital and Newtek to develop tokenized commodity trading on the Blockchain

Stratez Capital and Newtek to develop tokenized commodity trading on the Blockchain

Singaporean, Stratez Capital with offices in UAE, a boutique firm that focuses on assisting enterprises who are planning to elevate to the next phase of growth, has partnered with NewTek Holdings to develop tokenized commodity trading and real-estate projects on the Blockchain.

As per the press release, the Middle East has been identified by NewTek as a priority market, and the company is initially looking to focus on major real estate projects in Dubai.  “This is an exciting partnership, and in line with the investment and strategy objectives of the company, and we feel we can add huge value with our expertise and investments. NewTek brings real asset value and a clear vision in one of the fastest growing areas where real world assets combine with future Web3 and blockchain technology,” said Vik Pillai, Managing Partner at Singapore-based Stratez, announcing the agreement today.

Qurashi, CEO of London-based NewTek, said: “I’ve been very impressed by the depth and variety that Stratez brings to this new partnership, and am thrilled to be working with them. NewTek sets out to integrate the technology behind blockchain, NFTs and Web3 into the world of real estate and commodity trading. We have clear objectives, and I’m confident that Stratez can play a key role in turning our vision into reality.”

NewTek is a newly-formed company set up by Safi Qurashi, a serial entrepreneur and property developer. Over the last 25 years, Qurashi has founded several successful startups, including one of the first internet cafes in London in 1996 and a successful real estate company in Dubai. Other ventures included an armoured vehicle manufacturing company and a facility management firm in the UAE. Qurashi is the co-owner of Great Britain Island in Dubai’s World Islands project.

Qurashi added, “This partnership connects us with some very impressive Stratez partners, and I’m looking forward to the opportunity to work with world-renowned luxury brands. We’ll be announcing more details about the new venture in the coming weeks. But basically we’re working to allow the fractionalization of exclusivity within the two safest real life asset classes, real estate and commodities.”

As per his linkedIn, Newtek is working on tokenizing commodities making them accessing to all. Nire is on of the first ventures of Newtek and now live and trading.

UAE DAMAC sells 50 million USD worth of properties via cryptocurrencies

UAE DAMAC sells 50 million USD worth of properties via cryptocurrencies

Ali Sajwani Chief Operating Officer of DAMAC Group told al Roeya media outlet in an interview that UAE DAMAC Properties sold 50 million USD worth of properties in crypto since the beginning of 2022.

As he explained, “DAMAC started accepting crypto as part of our efforts to enhance our service offering in the digital economy. We want to make it easier for those dealing in crypto such as Bitcoin and Ethereum to purchase properties and pay using both these cryptocurrencies. We have succeeded in selling 50 million USD worth of properties via cryptocurrencies since the beginning of 2022.

Payments happen through a third party regulated by Abu Dhabi global market authority, Havyn digital asset exchange. Clients purchase through Havyn and then Havyn transfers the amount to DAMAC’s digital wallet either in USD OR AED as per the exchange rate of Bitcoin or Ethereum at that time. So we don’t take any risk.”

He also sheds light on DAMAC’s metaverse strategy. As he explains the strategy is divided into three phases. The first phase will focus on the properties currently owned by DAMAC which will be on the metaverse by end of 2022. Then in early 2023 DAMAC will move to the second phase with virtual assets that DAMAC aims to build in the DAMAC metaverse and the phase 3 where the company will bridge between the physical and virtual realm allowing DAMAC clients to invest in virtual properties in the DAMAC Metaverse which will include a cohesive environment for communication and entertainment.

He explains, “DAMAC is foraying and investing to widen the scope of its offering to meet the needs of those who are interested in digital assets, starting from virtual homes, properties, even digital wearables and digital jewelry

The market size of the metaverse will be anywhere between 8 to 12 trillion USD by 2030 attracting 5 billion users.

Already DAMAC has announced that it will be investing 100 million USD in the metaverse through DLabs.