ArabianBusiness.com

The real estate market in Dubai may be still be in bumpy territory, but for the super-rich, the recession probably regarded as an unfortunate event that happened to someone else. Earlier this month, Arabian Business revealed that apartment sellers in the Burj Khalifa Armani Residences have listed a number of two-bedroom units with asking prices of AED30m ($8.1m) each.

Mohamed Alabbar is not planning to step down from his role as chairman of property firm Emaar, despite spending an increasing amount of time on a private mining company.

The PlayBook, which was showcased at a launch event at Dubai’s Armani Hotel, was released in the US on April 19. Canadian makers Research in Motion (RIM) were forced to recall around 1,000 of the devices in May after they were shipped with a flawed operating system.

MBR technology is benefiting from the increasing reuse of wastewater in the region. But for MBR to supercede the conventional activated sludge process, membrane costs will have to come down, and the full potential of the technology needs to be realised.

Tameer Holding Investment on Sunday said the world's tallest residential tower will be completed in December. The property developer said its Princess Tower project in Dubai was on schedule and the superstructure of the project was now complete. The tower will rise to 414m (1,358ft) and will be second only in height to the Burj Khalifa.

Italian design house Armani Group has denied it is planning to open a third branded hotel in Russia, under a joint venture deal with Dubai’s Emaar Properties. The design company, which launched its first branded hotel in Dubai’s Burj Khalifa in April last year, spoke out after press reports claimed it had signed a $150m deal to open a property in the Russian resort of Stavropol.

Emaar Properties said on Saturday it had set up a new team of senior managers and consultants to develop a five-year action plan. The Dubai-based developer of the Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower, said the team would "develop and roll-out a five-year corporate strategic action plan for long-term value creation".

In recent years, the Middle East has proved to be one of the most attractive construction and engineering markets in the world for international contractors. This is demonstrated in microcosm in the United Arab Emirates. In Dubai, for example, Japanese contractors have been heavily involved in constructing the Dubai Metro and the joint venture involved in the construction of the recently opened Burj Khalifa (previously known as the Burj Dubai) was led by South Korea's Samsung.

Missoni Kuwait is the latest in a growing list of Gulf hotels designed by top Italian fashion labels. The first Armani hotel opened in Dubai in 2010 and will be followed by the launch of the Palazzo Versace hotel later this year. Elisabetta Gucci, the great-granddaughter of the founder of the fashion label, last year said Dubai would be the setting for the first of up to 40 Gucci branded hotels.

Sharjah plans to rival Dubai’s Burj Khalifa development with the launch of a waterfront project set to spearhead a real estate ‘renaissance’ in the emirate, Cluttons said in a report Sunday. The emirate’s investment authority, Shurooq, is transforming Al Majaz Park on the Al Buhaira Corniche into a social hub, featuring a fountain centerpiece and rows of hotels and restaurants.