UAE's Emaar eyes property in U.S., Europe - report

DUBAI, March 22 (Reuters) - Emaar Properties (EMAR.DU), the largest Arab developer by market value, is seeking opportunities in the United States and Europe where property prices have become "attractive", a newspaper said, citing the chairman. "A property whose price was $100 in the U.S., now costs $10 ... and we expect it to become $5," Mohamed Alabbar told Kuwait's al-Qabas daily in an interview, to be published on Sunday, which was made available to Reuters.

The newspaper did not specify what opportunities the Dubai-based company was seeking and a spokesman for Emaar could not immediately comment.

Emaar, which owns U.S. company John Laing Homes, has consultants in the U.S. working on developing low-cost residential units at no more than $12,000 a piece, Alabbar said, according to the paper.

The company also plans to open an office in China in the next 12 months, he added.

(Writing by Ola Galal; editing by Chris Johnson)