Al Habtoor Group Chairman Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor welcomed Ford M Fraker, Chairman, Merrill Lunch (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) at his office on Thursday 29 September, 2016.
Fraker, who has known the Chairman for many years, is also President of the Middle East Policy Council and was a former US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia. The courtesy visit was to introduce Chairman Al Habtoor to Ashad Gahfur, President and Regional Manager, Merrill Lunch (Middle East & Africa).
They discussed the economic activity in the region and the Al Habtoor Group’s rapid expansion plans. The Group has invested heavily in Dubai in recent years. It now has seven hotels in the city, two of which are under construction and due to open later this year (The Metropolitan Hotel Dubai and The St. Regis Dubai, Al Habtoor Polo Resort & Club). It has also expanded internationally with seven hotels abroad; two in Lebanon, two in Hungary, one in the United Kingdom and one in the United States. The Group announced further expansion earlier this week adding two commercial buildings to its international property portfolio in Budapest.
Khalaf Al Habtoor said, “We are always on the lookout for quality investments, and willing to cooperate with respected banks.”