EMPG raises $50 million
EMPG said on Thursday it has wrapped up a first close of $50 million as part of a substantially larger investment round. EMPG owns and operates a portfolio of property portals that includes UAE-based Bayut.com, Pakistan-based Zameen.com and Bangladesh-based bproperty.com, and in May acquired Morocco-based property website Mubawab for an undisclosed sum.
“EMPG’s growth has been comprehensive across all metrics, on the back of some of the world’s most advanced digital real estate platforms developed by our R&D teams. With a compounded annual revenue growth rate of over 100% over the last five years, more than 15,000 real estate agencies, and 8 million-plus monthly visits across our portals, EMPG is ideally positioned for regional dominance” said EMPG CEO Imran Ali Khan.
Haider Ali Khan, the CEO of Bayut.com, said in a statement $25 million of these funds would be deployed in the Emirates with a focus on further consolidation. “The remaining funds will be used to further strengthen EMPG’s leading position in its other markets,” he added.EMPG has raised a total of $60 million in its four previous rounds, and the current round is its largest yet, bringing up the grand total to $110 million. The group has presence in 40 cities across the UAE, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Morocco, Spain and Romania with over 1,500 employees.
Zameen.com Crosses 5 Million Monthly Visits Mark
Zameen.com, Pakistan’s top property portal, announced that it had crossed the 5 million monthly visits mark in March 2018, with 32.9 million page views across all devices and platforms.
Around 30% of this traffic came from overseas Pakistanis. According to Zameen.com CEO Zeeshan Ali Khan.
We are grateful to our visitors and the agencies, developers, and home partners who work with us. It is all of these people who have helped make Zameen.com what it is today, and we are proud to offer them seamless access to Pakistan’s entire real estate market at the click of a button.
Over 350,000 new listings are posted on the website every month, which is a key factor behind the rapidly increasing audience, Khan added.
Since its inception in 2006, Zameen.com has grown rapidly to become one of the biggest and most well-funded start-up to emerge from Pakistan. In addition to the online portal, Zameen.com organizes the largest and most well-attended real estate events in the country under the Zameen Expo brand.
To date, 14 such events have been held in Lahore, Karachi, Islamabad and Dubai.
Mr. Khan further added:
Our aim is to continue to facilitate the real estate sector of the country in every domain and avenue possible. Zameen.com enjoys the trust of millions of Pakistanis in the country and around the world, and we will continue to build solutions that enable easier access to the market and more informed decision making.
Zameen.com is Pakistan’s largest online real estate entity, with presence across 30 cities, over 14,500 agencies, and more than a million registered members.
Zameen.com Holds Pakistan Property Show in Dubai
Zameen.com, Pakistan’s leading real-estate portal, took Pakistani real-estate market to Dubai by conducing its first ever Expo in Dubai.
H.E. Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, Director General of Dubai Land Department inaugurated Zameen.com’s Pakistan Property Show at Za’abeel Hall 5 of the prestigious Dubai World Trade Centre.
The Ali Khan brothers including Mr. Haider Ali Khan, CEO of Bayut.com, Mr. Zeeshan Ali Khan, CEO of Zameen.com and Mr. Imran Ali Khan, CEO of EMPG greeted the esteemed guest at the venue.
Not to mention, Dubai is ranked second for highest value of international remittances to Pakistan.
Zameen said that the show is aimed at getting the Pakistani property market to Dubai to enhance investor’s trust in Pakistan’s real estate market.
Pakistan Property Show will not only build positive image of Pakistan but will also offer an opportunity for Pakistanis living abroad and the international investors to evaluate their options in Pakistan’s real estate market.
Expo was opened to public on during both days of the expo. The entry was free for visitors and more than 7,000 visitors and investors participated at the Expo.
The Pakistani realty market has been witnessing a boom over the last decade due to establishment of a diverse portfolio of gated communities with standards to match overseas Pakistanis experience of foreign living in modern cities.
With the additional shortfall of 10 million housing units the market sentiment can only remain bullish. Simply put the demand far exceeds the supply. The business has only one direction to go – upwards.
When asked about key objectives the Pakistan Property Show intends to achieve, the CEO Zameen.com Mr. Zeeshan Ali Khan said,
Simply put Pakistan Property Show is the key to full realization of the estimated US $700 billion Pakistani realty market. Overseas Pakistani worker remittances amount to US $19.3 billion. Pakistan Property Show will bring about two fundamental changes. Firstly it will vastly improve share of real estate in the remittances. Secondly it will help substantially grow foreign direct investment by attracting foreign investors and developer groups to Pakistan.
Sharing details of the exhibitors he further said,
We have about 50 exhibitors comprising leading developers and real estate brokerages participating in the Pakistan Property Show. They are showcasing a wholesome bouquet of properties from all across Pakistan – All the way from Peshawar, Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi to Gwadar and everything in-between. Overseas Pakistanis with varying preferences and budget ranges will be able to find something to their liking at the show. Foreign investors – both the go-slow and aim-big will equally have most secure and high yielding properties to choose from.
Mr. Haider Ali Khan, the CEO of Bayut.com – the most influential property portal in the UAE – said,
UAE is home to 1.5 million overseas Pakistanis. The economic significance of these numbers is the US $4.33 billion remittances per year that makes up for 22.367% of the yearly remittances from overseas Pakistanis globally. The only missing part of the equation was a platform that provides secure access to the Pakistani realty across Pakistan – Pakistan Property Show Dubai has today completed the equation.
Also present on the occasion was Mr. Imran Ali Khan, the CEO of EMPG. He said,
EMPG’s group companies across UAE, Pakistan and Bangladesh are helping the regional multi-trillion-dollar real estate industry realize its full potential. EMPG has successfully innovated a unique regional framework for collective economic growth that we hope will guide regional markets in other parts of the world.
Zameen.com is globally recognized as one of the most innovative and fast-growing property portals. Over 4.5 million monthly visitors from all over the world making Zameen.com the most trusted partner for making property decisions in Pakistan.
With the Pakistan Property Show, Zameen.com aims to promote a positive, progressive and investment-friendly Pakistan to the global community.
Here are some pictures from the Expo:
Zameen.com named among top 5 property portals in the world
One of Pakistan’s biggest property portals, Zameen.com, has been going strength to strength as it was recently named among top five real estate websites in the world.
Simon Baker, the founder of Property Portal Watch (PPW) and former chief executive officer of the REA Group, declared Zameen.com the 5th most effective real estate website across the globe on Wednesday.
The list included other international names such as the United Kingdom’s Rightmove, Australlia’s Realestate, United States’ Trulia and Brazil’s VivaReal.
During the four-day conference which was held in Bangkok, Zameen.com was praised for its data-driven approach and effective management techniques that ensured the portal’s success.
The conference welcomed representatives of 25 companies from across the world who shared their insights and products that are critical to the growth of property portals in the current scenario.
According to Baker, 8 to 10 thousand property websites are currently operating across the globe and the numbers is continuously growing with the passage of time.
Imran Ali Khan, the Co-founder and Co-CEO of Zameen.com, represented the portal at the conference.
The site was created in 2006 and is known today as the most reliable property website in Pakistan.
It has closed various ventures rounds in the recent past. The last venture round in January 2016 resulted in Zameen.com raising a whopping $20 million.
With these impressive achievements in hand, Zameen.com currently boasts a team of over 600 employees, 3.5 million monthly visits, 3 million property listings, more than 9,000 registered agencies, offices in 9 cities and presence in 30.
Bayut.com secures $20 million investment round
Funding comes from one of the company’s investors – a fund which focuses on frontier and emerging markets
Dubai: UAE-based Bayut.com has recently closed a $20 million investment as part of its Series C venture round.
The funding comes from one of Bayut’s current investors, a fund which focuses on frontier and emerging markets with over US$ 1 billion in assets under management.
The company’s CEO, Haider Ali Khan, said the new investment would be a major asset for the portal as it seeks to establish a firm presence across the Middle East.
We have the top minds of the [industry] on board, some of the world’s most advanced proprietary scalable technology, and ample resources, all of which will contribute to the achievement of our goals.
