Where to get best dirham-rupee remittance exchange rate in UAE

Most money exchange houses in the UAE have long queues as the Indian rupee crossed the Rs15 to a UAE dirham barrier, but some exchanges are offering better rates than others.

Emirates 24|7 did a spot check on some of the exchanges in the country to check the rates on offer for the Indian rupee versus the dirham.

Of the prominent ones, LuLu Exchange seems to be offering the best deals.

At 10.30 am today, the executive at the exchange said the rupee rate was Rs15.12/per dirham and if the amount to be remitted was higher (Dh50,000 as quoted by the website) he could give a better rate of Rs15.13.

UAE Exchange, on the other hand, said it was offering Rs15.04/dirham and the rate could go up to Rs15.1/dirham if the amount was Dh50,000 and above.

Thomas Cook Al Rostamani Exchange, at around 10.30am, was giving Rs15.03/dirham but was willing to offer Rs15.07/dirham if the amount to be remitted was higher.

Al Ansari Exchange gave a uniform rate, which remained the same irrespective of the amount to be remitted. At 10.30 am, the rate offered was Rs15.06/dirham.

With the Indian rupee slumping to its worst ever exchange rate against the US dollar - and, therefore, the UAE dirham and other dollar-pegged Gulf currencies - Indian expats in the region are taking advantage of sending home as much money as possible.

The rupee once again hit fresh lows this morning, trading at Rs15.23 against the UAE dirham (Rs55.92 against $1) at 10.30am UAE time (6.30am GMT) on Wednesday, May 23, 2012 and if expert comments are to go by, the currency could lose more value in the future, with some seeing Rs16/dirham a possibility.

 

Glass walkway to connect Burj Khalifa with Dubai Metro

820m long pedestrian link planned for visitors

The world’s tallest building, Burj Khalifa, is set to meet its match in the shape of an almost equally long glass walkway that will directly connect the iconic tower and the adjoining Dubai Mall with the Burj Khalifa/ Dubai Mall Metro Station.

In a statement Tuesday, Emaar, the master developer of Downtown Dubai which includes Burj Khalifa, Dubai mall and a host of other iconic attractions, said its Emaar Malls Group had launched a project to build an 820-metre long (just 8 metres short of the Burj Khalifa itself) glass-encased pedestrian link.

The Dubai Mall Metro Link, to be constructed by Dutco, will have five travelators, or moving walkways, in each direction – ten in all – with the air-conditioned and automated walkways capable of ferrying more than 13,500 individuals every hour. There will be a central walkway that will give additional space for pedestrian use.

Mohamed Alabbar, Chairman, Emaar Properties, said: “The Dubai Mall is one of the most visited tourist, retail, and leisure destinations in the world. While the mall offers covered parking for over 14,000 vehicles, we have been evaluating various alternatives to further streamline visitor traffic and add to their convenience. The Dubai Mall Metro Link will also serve visitors to Burj Khalifa and the various attractions in Downtown Dubai.”

The travelators will move at an average speed of 0.5 metres/second, starting at the Burj Khalifa/The Dubai Mall Metro station entrance pod and travelling through the Downtown Dubai development before connecting directly with The Dubai Mall.

Scheduled to be operational in 2013, ‘The Dubai Mall Metro Link’ is one of the longest pedestrian walkways that links the Dubai Metro with any retail development, and is expected to significantly enhance the convenience of visitors to the mall and Burj Khalifa, Emaar said. It is also billed to reduce vehicular traffic within the immediate vicinity of the mall, located in the heart of Downtown Dubai, the flagship mega development by Emaar Properties, described as ‘The Centre of Now.’

“The Dubai Mall Metro Link will contribute to the sustainable transport initiatives developed by the Dubai Government. At its peak capacity, the travelators can carry over 13,500 people per hour, and is being developed to the highest international standards. It has been designed to accommodate maximum visitor traffic, both to The Dubai Mall, Burj Khalifa and to Downtown Dubai, especially during the festive season,” Alabbar added.

With The Dubai Mall Metro Link, visitors will have an air-conditioned passage from the Metro to the mall. Allowances are also being made for future connections to Emaar Square and Boulevard Plaza offices and linkages with the Emaar Boulevard, which hosts several lifestyle events including the popular Emirates Classic Car Festival. Pedestrians also have the option of using The Dubai Mall Metro Link, even if they are not Metro passengers.

The Dubai Mall Metro Link is elegantly designed in glass with views of the Downtown Dubai development including Burj Khalifa. It will also open a new marketing avenue for multimedia advertising displays along the walls of the pedestrian link. Designed with the highest safety features, The Dubai Mall Metro Link will incorporate add-on features such as exit routes along its length and access stairs.

Rupee edges to 2012 low: Your dirhams could soon fetch Rs15.25

Rupee edges to 2012 low: Your dirhams could soon fetch Rs15.25

Swiss bank UBS says the rupee could hit 56 to the dollar on the back of India’s severe deficit drag

The Indian rupee is currently at Rs14.39 against the UAE dirham, with rising dollar demand from importers and a weak economy expanding an already wide fiscal deficit.

The rupee traded at Rs52.89 against the US dollar on Wednesday, a little lower than the 2012 low of Rs53.30 that it made on January 3, 2012.

While the rupee recovered some of its losses next month, rising to Rs48.60 against the US dollar by February 4, 2012 (Rs13.23 against Dh1), it has since lost 9 per cent in three months.

With global ratings agency Standard and Poor’s maintaining a negative outlook on the Indian economy, analysts maintain that the rupee could soon fall to Rs56 against $1, or Rs15.24 against the dirham.

According to Swiss investment bank UBS, the rupee could hit 56 to the dollar, which would mark a record low. The bank cited the prospect of slowing flows on the back of India’s “severe” deficit drag, the need to “repair” its balance sheet and regulatory ambiguity that has reached a “crisis point.”

“In these conditions, there is very little policy easing. So companies and government must now become more efficient if they want to retain/induce that extra dollar from overseas,” UBS economist Philip Wyatt said in a recent report.
Last month, UBS downgraded India’s shares to ‘neutral’ from ‘overweight’, saying China is a better bet.

Experts maintain that the ongoing policy paralysis at the central government level in India and a rising imports bill are factors that will continue to put pressure on the beleaguered rupee, which recently made a lifetime low of Rs14.62 versus the UAE dirham on December 15, 2011.

Further, India’s apex bank, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which has in the past come to the rescue of the rupee whenever there have been sharp movements in exchange levels, is being seen as a passive onlooker this time around by traders, who believe that the RBI may be lacking the inclination and, more importantly, the firepower to make any substantial difference to rupee’s levels.

Global risk-aversion on the back of concerns that the Euro Zone could slip back into another recession are making international investors shy away from making any fresh investments in emerging markets such as India, leading to the rupee being one of the main under-performing currencies over the past month.

“Not much is likely to change in the near term. We do not expect RBI to intervene aggressively, but it will continue with its intervention strategy of only stepping in to curb excessive depreciation without defending a particular level,” Abheek Barua, chief economist of HDFC Bank, said in a note.

 

Rents hiked as Al Tayer fire-victims look for place to stay

Trust sharp businessmen to exploit a tragedy. And this is what seems to be happening in Al Nahda area of Sharjah in the wake of a major fire at the locale's prominent Al Tayer building.

A fire early on Saturday morning has rendered some 2,500 people homeless for the past three days. Unwilling to overstay their welcome with families and friends, quite a few of them have been out looking for alternate accommodation in neighbouring buildings - especially tenants of the 8 and 9 series of apartments - the worst affected by the fire.

Tenants have been allowed to visit their apartment to inspect fire damage and to salvage essentials, but they have not yet been permitted to live in their flats on safety concerns. Electricity and gas supply also remains disconnected.

"I want to live in the same area as I have my life sorted out with facilities in the area such as restaurants, grocery, laundry, car-lift etc. My children have friends there and we are happy there. But when I went to a neighbouring building they had raised the rent of their 2-bedroom apartment by Dh5,000 since the fire," said a Al Tayer resident.

"I had been interested in that building as its facilities are superior. I have been keeping track of rents there as I was going to move out from Al Tayer building in July this year and had already budgeted for the rent which was Dh42,000. On Monday, when I went there, they offered me the same 2-bedroom flat for Dh47,000 with a take-it-or-leave-it attitude," he said.

"I cannot stay in our old building anymore. I just can't. We have lost a lot in the fire, we have not been able to go to work, our lives have changed and these people are just interested in what they can get out of people who are already in trouble," added his wife.

Another resident said he had gone to look for an apartment in an adjoining building.

There the rent was raised by Dh2,000 since the fire.

"The only buildings that continue to offer the same old rent are the ones that we cannot live in. They are mostly used to accommodate large number of sharing' bachelors and we are family people," he said.