Emaar Properties

1997–2005

Emaar Properties was founded and incorporated in 1997 by chairman Mohamed Alabbar. Emaar has interests in both commercial and residential property development, as well as malls and hospitality. The Dubai government initially owned 100% of the company while the founding shareholders held 24.3% when operations as a public company commenced after the IPO in 2000. The following year, Emaar announced plans to build Dubai Marina.

In 2000, Emaar Properties was listed on the Dubai Financial Market and became the first property company to offer shares to foreign nationals. The first phase of the company's developmental projects began in 2001 when Emaar awarded the contract in a joint venture to build three of the six apartment towers.

In 2003, the company revealed its plans for a signature development project, later known as Downtown Dubai. The project consisted of two developments: Burj Khalifa and The Dubai Mall, the world's tallest building and world's largest mall respectively. Emaar International LLC was established in 2004 and signified Emaar's expansion into foreign markets. The company has undertaken projects in Africa, Asia, North America, and throughout the Middle East.

2006–present

The Dubai Mall officially opened in 2008, and Burj Khalifa in 2010. By 2014, Emaar was holding over $11.4 billion in real estate investments. In 2007, the company was majority-owned by Dubai's government. In 2009, John Laing Homes, a subsidiary of Emaar Properties which was acquired in 2006, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the US Court for the District of Delaware.

In July 2010, American businessman Lionel Lombard filed a lawsuit against Emaar Properties and its Chairman Mohamed Alabbar in a California federal court alleging he was wrongfully imprisoned and tortured because he had spoken up on behalf of Emaar foreign workers. The case was dismissed in November 2010 by Lombard.

In September 2012, Emaar launched the Address BLVD, a luxurious 72 storey hotel and hotel serviced apartment project in Downtown Burj Dubai adjacent to the Dubai Mall. In 2014, Emaar Properties announced plans to sell shares of its malls and retail business to the public. The IPO was one of the largest in the region since the 2008 financial crisis. Emaar Malls Group became a publicly traded company on the Dubai Financial Market in October 2014. Closing at 3.25 dirhams with approximately 535 million shares traded, the IPO was the largest in Dubai since 2007. Also in 2014, Emaar opened the world's highest observation deck, At the Top, Burj Khalifa SKY. The highest man-made vantage point sits 555 metres up on the 148th floor of Burj Khalifa.

Emaar marked the new year with the world's most watched New Year's Eve (NYE) celebration for 2015. According to Guinness World Records, Emaar oversaw the "Largest LED-Illuminated Façade" on the world's tallest man made structure" during the NYE celebrations. The record-setting display consisted of 70,000 LED panels that flashed coloured lights and projections of the country's leaders and other images on the Burj Khalifa. Emaar reported a 16% rise in second-quarter net profit for 2015, and that it has a land bank of over 235 million square metres.

In November 2020, Emaar Properties announced a profit fall of 48% from the beginning of the year until September. In December 2020, Alabbar stepped down as Emaar chairman but continued to oversee the day-to-day activities as managing director. The Dubai Mall, developed by Emaar Properties, is the world's second largest shopping mall. It marked its soft opening in November 2008 and was inaugurated in May 2009. The mall has over 1,200 stores and 200 restaurants. It is also home to Dubai Aquarium and Underwater Zoo, KidZania, Dubai Ice Rink and the largest cinema complex in the region, Reel Cinemas. In 2014, The Dubai Mall had over 80 million visitors, of which 40% were tourists from outside the region. As an extension to Dubai Mall, Emaar began to develop a 55-storey residential building called Downtown Views.