(Jan 9): Dubai property billionaire Hussain Sajwani — who this week stood alongside US President-elect Donald Trump to pledge a US$20 billion (RM90 billion) investment in US data centres — is likely to lean heavily on banks and other financial institutions for much of that investment.
In an interview with Bloomberg Television on Thursday, the Damac Group chief said that the Dubai developer’s balance sheet would allow it to fund about 30%.
“This is an asset-based business. With infrastructure, normally you borrow 60% to 70% from the banks or financial institutions, or bonds, leverage,” he said. “Damac Properties will be able to put the equity, which will be in the range of the other 30%, which will be around US$5 billion to US$6 billion.” The billionaire said he doesn’t foresee any funding from governments at the moment.
The 71-year-old developer has had a relationship with Trump for years, and the two have partnered on luxury golf courses in Dubai. Damac, which has housing developments across the emirate, has been one of the big beneficiaries of its property boom. Sajwani’s net worth has surged in recent years to about US$13 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.
Business leaders from around the world have sought to burnish their relationships with Trump as he prepares to return to the White House. The proposed data centres would extend from Arizona to Ohio. Sajwani said he hopes to announce some land acquisitions across the US sometime this year for the project.
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