Property lenders Amlak and Tamweel to unite

According to Amlak Finance and Tamweel, two Dubai-based property finance groups with total assets of around 7 billion dollars, have begun a merger process.

They said that the merging of the two largest finance groups under the supervision of UAE Real Estate Bank will create the largest real estate finance institution in the country.

In the first half of 2008, Amlak Finance had assets of 14.2 billion dirhams (3.86 billion dollars)
and Tamweel's assets were worth 10.8 billion dirhams (2.94 billion dollars), giving a combined value of 25 billion dirhams or 6.8 billion dollars, WAM reported.

News that the merger process is underway, after the idea was mooted in early October, came on the eve of the start of a new stock market week in the Emirates, where property stocks have fallen sharply in recent weeks amid the global economic crisis.