Is Georgia the Plan B of Dubai Investors?

**Tim Elliott** (0:00)
It's the Morning Drive, it's real estate next. What is your plan B is the topic this morning. Ajay Menon is back in the room. He's the CEO of Luxe Vista Real Estate. We've just been talking about man caves and bat caves and basements and all the stuff that boys do.
That's going to be a topic for soon, Ajay. That's, we've got to revisit this.

**Ajay Menon** (0:21)
Definitely, the evolution of basements in Dubai.

**Tim Elliott** (0:23)
Oh, I tell you, that's coming. But right now, you're just back from Georgia.

**Ajay Menon** (0:27)
Yes, Mira developers was kind enough. They had taken quite a few channel partners to Georgia to launch their Mira Hills project on Tbilisi Hills.
That is their equivalent of Emirates Hills. It's perched on a hill with a golf course, looking on to the city.

**Tim Elliott** (0:44)
I've seen some of the pictures of it. I don't know much about it, though.
Obviously, they're the parent company of us. Lots of things going on. But this, I mean, this is a big old thing, isn't it? It's a massive project.

**Ajay Menon** (0:58)
It is indeed a massive project.
This is something that Georgia has never seen before. The Georgians, they have the local developers build and give shell and core units.

**Tim Elliott** (1:13)
Yeah.

**Ajay Menon** (1:13)
Okay. This is where Mira is coming up with five-star hotel branded residences, fully furnished, fully fitted, completely serviced units.

**Tim Elliott** (1:24)
Yeah. Okay.
It's interesting, actually. Georgia as a place to go and ski is something I know a little bit about. A friend of mine had bought an apartment there, I don't know, it must be 15 years ago, and because she was really into skiing, would go maybe a couple of times a year. But it's becoming a more and more attractive destination, isn't it?

**Ajay Menon** (1:46)
That is correct. So I simply thought, why Georgia?
And then it's simply not a coincidence. It is very strategic. And Mira is not the only developer who is out there.

**Tim Elliott** (1:59)
Who else is there?

**Ajay Menon** (2:01)
The biggest private developer in the UAE, and one company which is completely owned by Mr. Mohammed Al-Abbar, not Imar, completely owned by Mohammed Al-Abbar. He's also developing in both Batumi and Tbilisi.

**Tim Elliott** (2:18)
Okay. So you've now been there. First time?

**Ajay Menon** (2:21)
No, second time.

**Tim Elliott** (2:22)
Second time now. Okay. So now that you're back, you've had a little bit of time to reflect. I was going to ask you why Georgia? I don't mean that to sound patronizing in any way, but what was it that was, that is actually so attractive about?

**Ajay Menon** (2:36)
Yes. I'll tell you why. Because obviously I started digging much more deeper into why Georgia has been, you know, preferred by these UAE developers in particular. It is not a coincidence. It is very strategic. Quite a few reasons. Number one is basically the price.
Georgia is probably at 20 years where Dubai was. When Dubai was 20 years, Georgia is now that. So developers can get land at a cheaper price.
They can develop it much more. It's still priced very lower than other European capitals. A lot of, not just construction margins, developers can actually expect returns on the whole price differential.

**Tim Elliott** (3:26)
Okay. We've all heard the buzz about Tbilisi.
George is becoming a more and more popular tourist destination.

**Ajay Menon** (3:34)
Tourism is off the roof, getting a lot of interest. Tourism is actually one of the biggest income drivers in Georgia. If you look at Batumi, Batumi is more like Dubai. It's the beach vibe and the marina and those kinds of things. And Tbilisi is more like Abu Dhabi. It's basically a city break at the capital.
Business is coming in, so you've got both aspects covered in that.

**Tim Elliott** (3:58)
Okay, so you know when you fly into a place? I always do this. When I fly into a place, I always sort of think, because I like the idea of city breaks. I've done quite a lot of that. And you fly in and you spend the first kind of 24 hours getting your bearings. I usually do like a bus, you know, the bus tour and I kind of work myself out. But you know pretty quickly when you fly into a place, whether you feel comfortable, whether it's the place for you, for whatever reason, it doesn't matter what that is, when you fly into Tbilisi, is that how it works for you?

**Ajay Menon** (4:29)
It's a very small airport, so very easy to come out. Obviously, everything was arranged, so it was much more easier. But even if it was not arranged, it's a small city, small place, very close to the airport, so things are very easy. And when you actually go into the city, it's unlike Dubai, you know, there's a lot of tree-lined boulevards, the weather is fantastic.