UPDATE 1-Dubai ruler unit makes $3.85 bln on property sales
(Adds debt in last paragraph)
LONDON, May 1 (Reuters) - A unit of Dubai Holding, owned by the ruler of the Arab emirate, said profit last year almost doubled to $3.85 billion after it sold more land and property amid a real estate boom in the Gulf.
Dubai Holding Commercial Operations Group, which includes property developers Tatweer, Sama Dubai and Dubai Properties, said net income rose to 14.15 billion dirham ($3.85 billion) in the year to Dec. 31 from 7.6 billion dirhams in 2006, it said in a statement on the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) website.
Revenue from the sale of land surged almost eight-fold to 8.7 billion dirhams from 1.2 billion dirhams, while property sales generated 5.1 billion dirhams.
Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum and other investors are capitalising on surging demand for property in Dubai, where the economy is booming on a six-fold increase in oil prices during the last six years that spurred the world's largest oil producing region.
Dubai Holding Commercial -- which also includes hotel manager Jumeirah and Tecom Investments -- competes with Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU), the largest Arab real estate company, and Nakheel, which is owned by the government of Dubai.
Last year, Emaar's profit rose 3.5 percent, and Nakheel's to 4.7 billion dirhams from 1 billion dirhams. Tecom owns a stake in the United Arab Emirates' second mobile phone operator, Du DU.DU.
Under a European medium term note programme, Dubai Holding Commercial has sold 1 billion dirhams of bonds that mature this year, $500 million in 2012, 750 million euros ($1.17 billion) in 2014 and 500 million pounds ($994 million) in 2017, according to its statement. (Reporting by John Irish; Editing by Quentin Bryar)
