Brookfield and Dubai government start a $1B fund

Brookfield Asset Management and a Dubai government investment branch will begin a $1 billion fund to acquire real estate properties in Dubai, United Arab Emirates following a price decrease of more than half since 2008.

"We see this agreement as another big step in our next phase of growth," Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, chairman of Dubai government’s supreme fiscal committee and a member of the investment corporation’s board, said in the statement. "[This] affirms Dubai’s attractiveness as a premier investment destination in this region."

Brookfield CEO Bruce Flatt said that his agency views this as a great opportunity to acquire valuable assets in Dubai and the expected infusion of long-term capital into the city's market lays out the potential of recovery in the near future.

During its peak in 2008, Dubai housed one of the world's best housing markets, but since then home prices have dropped 64 percent. However, Viswanathan Shankar, Standard Chartered Plc's CEO, views the Brookfield and Dubai government deal as a step in the right direction which had to be done to bring increased liquidity to the Dubai market.