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QIS Ltd Newsletter 3

November 2008

Welcome to the third issue of our QIS newsletter. This month read about the QBP Launch in October, the Abu Dhabi investment forum we attended and is the UK an opportunity?...

Cyprus - The news keeps flowing!

Cyprus can weather the storm

Cyprus looks set to ride the storm of the global credit crunch, the government insisted on the 10th November 2008. Finance Minister Charilaos Stavrakis sought to demonstrate that both the economy and the state treasury could safely absorb the tremors from the financial crisis.

"In all honesty, we are in an envious position. My fellow EU Finance Ministers would very much like their economy to fare as well as Cyprus'", Stavrakis told newsmen. Even in the current environment, the government are projecting a rate of growth of 3.0 per cent (revised downwards from 3.7). The European Commission expects the Cyprus economy to grow by 2.9 per cent.

Property Prices

Cyprus property prices appear to be defying the global slump in the third quarter, but the pace of price growth is easing. They rose by 1.5% between July and September according to the BuySell Home Price Index. However, the Index, which is updated monthly, showed a slowdown. The Index rose by 9.0% in the third quarter, compared with 15.4% in the second and 20.0% in the first.

Unification talks continue

By Friday 14th November Turkish Cypriot President Mehmet Ali Talat and Greek Cypriot President Demetris Christofias will have met 8 times on the Cyprus negotiation process. Both are enthusiastic and upbeat about the discussions, however, details of what has actually been agreed remain unclear.

Q Business Park Official Launch

The launch of Q Business Park took place on the 16th of October 2008 at the Medieval Castle of Larnaca. It was one of the most glamorous events of the year with 200 guests. The event started with a cocktail on the roof of the castle where guests enjoyed drinks and a magnificent fireworks display. After the cocktail reception, the world famous designer Angelos Angelopoulos and the C.E.O. of Quality Group, Mr Savvas Kakos, introduced the project.

The Q Business Park will be the new landmark of Larnaca. This eye-catching and revolutionary development will be situated in what is considered to be Larnaca's most upcoming area. Changes in the surrounding infrastructure and redevelopment of the old Port will transform the area by integrating a plethora of entrepreneurial and tourist activities. The aim is to create a high-technology, progressive fifteen-floor "floating building" which will be an optical boundary-mark, not only in the specific area but in the wider parameters of the city.

Opportunity in the UK?

The key to investing in these markets is to be flexible and agile, being ready to pounce on opportunties as they arise. Although our focus over the last year has solely been on international property, and rightly so, the cycle may be reverting back to the UK. As the pound weakens against major foreign currencies, we are being approached by international investors to buy in the UK. We have been working hard on some serious 'no brainer' deals for all our clients and Dipen's blog on our website will give you more detail on the fantastic deals we are negotiating with potential discounts of up to 40% of market value. Please contact us if you feel this may be of interest to you.

Abu Dhabi

Abu Dhabi is a market that continues to interest and excite us

We recently attended an Abu Dhabi investment forum in London and the clear message emerging was that there is a clear vision of what Abu Dhabi will become, as evidenced by the 2030 strategic plan, and that short term market sentiment will not detract from this.

Natural resource wealth underpins all future developments but diversification of the economy has already begun into new industries such as aerospace. Tourism will also play its part as Abu Dhabi seeks to promote itself as the cultural capital of the region with high end attractions such as the Guggenheim and the Louvre finding a regional home in Abu Dhabi as well as the world's first Ferrari theme park. abu dhabi 2

The property market is a bi- product of the above rather than a driver of growth. There is already a real and acute shortage of housing and this will get worse until new housing stock comes on stream in late 2010 and 2011 with such supply only filling part of the gap.

Like the majority of off-plan property markets Abu Dhabi has taken a knock in recent weeks as investors digest the events unfolding in the global financial markets. Many investors who may have overstretched themselves are looking to exit their positions ahead of the next stage payments. This is likey to provide short term opportunities for the savvy investor, as what is apparent in Abu Dhabi is that given the existing housing shortage, stock that is delivered in the first phase of major projects (Q4 2009/Q1 2010) currently represents an excellent investment opportunity for both yield and capital growth.

QIS News

Lord's Taverners Golf Day

QIS was the sponsor at the recent Lord's Taverners Charity Golf Day at Moor Park. We raised a significant sum for the charty and the sun shone down on all 100 competitors on the beautiful High Course.

Thanks for taking the time to look through this month's newsletter. We hope you have found it both informative and useful. We always welcome any feedback you may have for us.

The QIS Team