Aldar: 40% of Yas Mall leased to retailers

UAE's Aldar Properties will use debt to part-fund construction of its mall on the island home of Abu Dhabi's Formula One race track, the developer's deputy chief executive said on Thursday. Earlier this month, Aldar awarded the main contract of Yas Mall to Six Construct, a unit of Orascom Construction. The value of the contract was set at AED2bn ($544.5m) "The mall's financing will be up to 70 percent of debt depending on market conditions," Mohammed Al Mubarak, deputy chief executive of Aldar Properties told reporters at the sideline of an event. Mubarak said more than 40 percent of Yas mall had already been let to retailers, with construction to begin in two weeks. Confirmed retailers include Landmark Group, Dubai Holding Group, M.H. Alshaya Co and Liwa Trading Enterprises. "We expect 95 percent to be leased by end of 2012," Mubarak said. The mall is scheduled for completion in final quarter of 2013 and will feature 235,000 sq m of retail trading area and connect to Ferrari World Abu Dhabi. Shares of Aldar were up two percent on the Abu Dhabi bourse at 0900 GMT, rising for a second day since Tuesday's all-time low. Aldar, which was rescued by a $5.2bn bailout by Abu Dhabi, is likely to appoint state fund Mubadala's Greg Fewer as chief financial officer following a board meeting today.