Capital from Hong Kong, mainland China sets sights on Dubai, Abu Dhabi property

Inquiries from Chinese buyers surge and Hong Kong’s Gaw Capital and Black Spade Capital make investments

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The Abu Dhabi skyline, pictured on May 14, 2025. Photo: AFP

Published: 1:00pm, 25 May 2025Updated: 3:27pm, 29 May 2025

The property market in the Middle East, particularly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) cities of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, is attracting more interest and capital from Hong Kong and mainland China.

Hong Kong-based Gaw Capital spent more than US$150 million on a residential building in Abu Dhabi, the capital, two weeks ago. And last week Black Spade Capital, the family office of casino billionaire Lawrence Ho Yau-lung, invested in IFCX, a Hong Kong-based real estate brokerage focused on real estate in markets including the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Chinese buyer inquiries for UAE properties rose by 28 per cent in the first quarter from a year ago, according to data from property technology firm Juwai IQI.

Foreign investors bought more than US$2 billion of real estate in Abu Dhabi in 2024 – a 125 per cent increase from a year earlier, the data showed. China was among the top sources of capital, along with the US, UK, France, Kazakhstan and Russia, the firm said.

Gaw Capital’s residential investment in Abu Dhabi was for a building at Mamsha Gardens, a low-density project with seven residential buildings on Saadiyat Island.

It acquired the building from Aldar, the largest developer in Abu Dhabi, which reported that 87 per cent of its sales in the first quarter came from international buyers, said Kashif Ansari, Juwai IQI co-founder and group CEO.

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