Abu Dhabi’s Reem Mall will be delivered next year with construction ongoing and finance in place to complete it in a challenging environment, said one of its investors.

Kuwait-based Agility revealed in a conference call about its third quarter financial results that the mall, on Abu Dhabi’s Reem Island, was being positioned as an e-commerce and logistics hub.

Ehab Aziz, the group’s chief financial officer, said the project was being completed in a ‘very challenging retail environment’.

“We try our best and we are working very hard to navigate through that. Construction is ongoing, financing I would say is in place to continue the project.

“So, from the delivery of product, I think that will take place and we will deliver the mall next year.

“And in terms of leasing the mall – it is still at one third of the mall is pre-leased. We are working on a few initiatives, but these initiatives have been put on hold because of the COVID.”

Aziz said the company was starting to see ‘some traction coming back’.

“It's not going to be the easiest project, and it's not going to be one of our highest return projects, however, we are doing our best to manage the situation as best as we can,” he said.

“And we are positioning the mall to be more of a logistics and e-commerce hub and we're introducing some new technology into the mall, and working on few initiatives there, but that said, it remains a very challenging project.”

Agility was first reported to be investing $1.2 billion in the mall, in consortium with two other Kuwait-based companies, UPAC and NREC, in 2017. 

The initial public offering (IPO) of Dubai-based Tristar, a subsidiary of Agility, which was first mooted in 2019, was also discussed during the conference call, and was said to be ongoing.

“We are in the process of filing for the IPO. However, there is still some regulatory steps and a few matters that we are working on, but it's ongoing,” said Aziz.

Agility’s results for the third quarter of 2020, filed on 9th November, showed profits of KD 18.42 million ($60.21 million) down from KD 25.92 million ($84.73 million) in 2019. Nine month profits were KD 35.97 million ($117.59 million) compared with KD 76.06 million ($248.68 million) in 2019.

(Reporting by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Daniel Luiz)

(imogen.lillywhite@refinitiv.com)

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. The content does not provide tax, legal or investment advice or opinion regarding the suitability, value or profitability of any particular security, portfolio or investment strategy. Read our full disclaimer policy here.

© ZAWYA 2020