company pjsc traded as dfm emaar industry real estate founded 1997 headquarters dubai united arab emirates key people mohamed alabbar chairman services commercial and residential property development revenue 3.307 billion 2010 1 number of employees 10 000 2 subsidiaries emaar properties emaar international emaar hospitality emaar malls emaar hotels & resorts emaar retail burj khalifa emaar community management emaar technologies emaar industries and investments amlak finance emaar investment holdings website www.emaar.com en index.aspx emaar properties is a real estate development company located in the united arab emirates uae . 2 it is a public joint stock company and is listed on the dubai financial market as dfm emaar . 4 the company operates internationally providing property development and management services . with six business segments and 60 active companies emaar has a collective presence in 36 markets across the middle east north africa pan asia europe and north america . 4 emaar properties is one of the largest real estate developers in the uae and is known for various large scale projects such as developing burj khalifa the tallest building in the world . 2 5 6 contents 1 company history 1.1 1997 2005 1.2 2006 present 2 uae projects 3 international projects 3.1 egypt 3.2 india 3.3 saudi arabia 3.4 syria 3.5 turkey 3.6 pakistan 4 north iraq 5 references 6 external links company history edit 1997 2005 edit emaar properties was founded and incorporated in 1997 by chairman mohamed alabbar . 7 8 as one of the leading developers in the uae emaar has diversified interests in real estate including both commercial and residential property development as well as malls and hospitality . 9 the dubai government initially owned 100 percent of the company while the founding shareholders held 24.3 percent when operations as a public company commenced after the ipo in 2000 . 10 11 the following year emaar announced its plans to build dubai marina . 10 in 2000 emaar properties was listed on the dubai financial market and became the first property company to offer shares to foreign nationals . 11 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 . 12 in 2003 the company revealed its plans for its signature development project later known as downtown dubai . 13 the project consisted of two developments of historical proportions burj khalifa and the dubai mall the world s tallest building and world s largest mall respectively . 10 13 emaar international llc was established in 2004 and signified emaar s expansion into foreign markets . 10 the company has ongoing projects in africa asia north america and throughout the middle east . 14 in 2005 emaar hotels & resorts llc was established in an exclusive deal with giorgio armani to launch a collection of luxury hotels in the designer brand s name . 6 2006 present edit the dubai mall officially opened in 2008 and burj khalifa in 2010 . despite a collapse in the real estate market in 2009 emaar reported that burj khalifa had reached 80 percent occupancy by fall 2012 . 10 by 2014 emaar was holding over 11.4 billion in real estate investments . 5 in 2009 john laing homes a subsidiary of emaar properties which was acquired in 2006 15 filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the us court for the district of delaware . 16 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 . 17 18 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 . 19 in 2014 emaar properties announced its plan to sell shares of its malls and retail business to the public . 20 the ipo is one of the largest in the region since the global financial crisis . 20 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 . 21 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 . 22 emaar celebrated the new year with the world s most watched nye celebration for 2015 . 23 24 according to guinness world records emaar won the title of the largest led illuminated fa ade 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 . 25 emaar reported a 16 percent rise in second quarter net profit for 2015 26 and that it has a land bank of over 235 million square metres . 27 in march 2015 emaar launched the emaar foundation which supports the united nations world food programme and organizations such as dubai cares and the dream for future africa foundation . 28 the foundation delivered more than 3 000 meals a day during ramadan through its ramadan for all campaign from june to july 2015 . 29 uae projects edit the dubai mall developed by emaar properties is the world s largest shopping mall . 30 it marked its soft opening in november 2008 and was inaugurated in may 2009 . the dubai mall has over 1 200 stores and 200 restaurants . 31 it is also home to dubai aquarium and underwater zoo kidzania dubai ice rink and the largest cinema complex in the region reel cinemas . 32 33 34 35 in 2014 the dubai mall had over 80 million visitors of which 40 percent were tourists from outside the region . 36 another large development project commissioned by emaar properties of the downtown dubai area is the dubai fountain . the dubai fountain is the tallest performing fountain in the world that began operating in the spring of 2009 . 37 the length of the fountain spreads out to be twice the length of a football field 275 meters . 37 emaar also developed the world s tallest building burj khalifa which opened in 2010 . 38 39 the building is 2 716.5 feet tall with 160 storeys that are primarily for residential purposes . 39 it is named after the abu dhabi ruler sheikh khalifa bin zayed al nahyan . 39 the springs community emaar properties has also developed a collection of neighborhoods throughout dubai including arabian ranches dubai marina the greens the meadows the lakes and the springs . 40 in 2013 emaar launched several other projects including the address residence fountain views i ii and iii the address residence sky view burj vista boulevard point and vida residence all in downtown dubai . 41 a new addition to downtown dubai from emaar is the opera district . key features include the dubai opera house the country s first dedicated opera house as well as an array of design studios and other lifestyle amenities . 42 in other strategic partnerships emaar and meraas holding is developing dubai hills estate the first phase of mbr city . the first residential apartment complex in dubai hills estate mulberry at park heights has been launched for sale . 40 emaar properties launched dubai creek residences a cluster of six residential towers at dubai creek harbour . the first tower was launched in october 2014 followed by the two more towers a month later . 43 in january 2015 emaar hospitality opened a lifestyle boutique hotel manzil downtown dubai . the hotel is managed by vida hotels and resorts and includes 200 rooms suites with burj khalifa views and access to a sports hub and several restaurants . 44 emaar rolled out the region s first hop on hop off transit system with the dubai trolley . 45 the trolley is also the world s first hydrogen powered zero emission street tram system . 46 emaar properties announced its plans to build world s tallest building that would be taller than burj khalifa . it is expected to be completed by 2020 . 47 48 international projects edit through various subsidiaries emaar has established property developments and projects in pakistan india jordan egypt lebanon morocco the united states saudi arabia syria and turkey . 49 emaar hospitality group the hospitality and leisure branch of emaar expanded its hotel and residence operations to nigeria and bahrain in 2015 . 50 some of the projects have included developments such as the beit misk in lebanon 51 the jeddah gate in saudi arabia 52 and the samarah dead sea resort in jordan that was outlined by the king abdullah ii fund for development . 53 egypt edit in 2002 emaar misr an egyptian subsidiary of emaar properties completed the redevelopment of the bibliotheca alexandrina on the eastern harbor of alexandria . 54 the new library facility stands almost exactly where the ancient library of alexandria existed . 55 emaar misr began working on a 4 billion development project in 2005 initially called cairo heights that was later renamed uptown cairo . 56 the project included building up an area as a residential commercial and recreational community . 57 58 in 2008 emaar misr began working on a tourist resort called marassi in sidi abdel rahman located along the mediterranean coast that includes a hotel with 3 000 rooms a marina and a golf course . 59 india edit emaar mgf has a portfolio of projects in several destinations in india covering residential commercial and hospitality . it is the joint venture of emaar properties pjsc with mgf developments limited of india . 60 61 hyderabad international convention centre was developed by emaar properties and completed in december 2005 . 62 the convention center was built to manage a seating capacity of 4 000 with the ability to extend its capacity to 6 500 seats . 62 it was built by cyberabad convention centre private limited cccpl a joint venture between the dubai based emaar properties and the andhra pradesh industrial infrastructure corporation apiic . 63 emaar mgf is being investigated by the enforcement directorate for alleged foreign exchange violations 63 64 65 and by the central bureau of investigation for corruption allegations . 66 67 in 2005 emaar mgf was created as a joint venture of emaar properties and mgf . the company built the 2010 commonwealth games village . the delhi development authority dda investigated emaar mgf for mismanagement and misappropriation of funds . 68 69 in 2010 emaar mgf and apiic were investigated for alleged irregularities in transfer of the boulder hills project in hyderabad and the dilution of public stake . 70 71 72 emaar mgf owns approximately 11 000 acres of land in india and will continue to expand its current hospitality business in the country along with develop properties for residential living over the next four to five years . 61 saudi arabia edit the king abdullah economic city kaec developed by emaar the economic city emaar e.c. is listed on tadawul the saudi stock exchange and is the largest private investment in saudi arabia . 73 the project includes the development of a special economic zone along the red sea coast 60 miles north of jadaah . 10 74 emaar e.c. also heads the development of the kaec port . the port is the first privately owned port for saudi arabia and was first opened in january 2014 but plans to further expand have been set in