<p>Following a two-year period that has seen his fortunes increase dramatically,&nbsp;<strong>Hussain&nbsp;Sajwani&nbsp;</strong>details the path ahead for&nbsp;Damac&nbsp;as it looks to projects in Dubai and abroad.</p>

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While much of the focus in the Dubai real estate market over the last 18 months has been on stagnant or slumping residential property prices and rents, one man that has been left with something to smile about is the founder and chairman of Damac Properties, Hussain Sajwani.

On the back of the historic election win of US President Donald Trump and a surge in the company’s share price, Sajwani was ranked the richest new billionaire in the UAE last year.

And his – and Damac’s – fortunes have only risen steadily since then after the opening of the company’s first golf club in partnership with the Trump Organisation in February at its Damac Hills mega project, and its addition to index compiler MSCI’s UAE index in June.

The company’s share price on the Dubai Financial Market has increased from Dhs2.69 at the start of January to around Dhs3.4 in November. Sajwani’s net worth has in turn increased significantly over the last six months from $3.7bn to $4.3bn, according to Forbes.

Speaking from the company’s Barsha Heights headquarters, he describes 2017 as a “good stable year” for Damac amid expectations it will exceed it targets for sales and handover by December 31.

“We had forecast Dhs7bn ($1.9bn) of sales, and I think we’re going to exceed that. We are on target with our profitability, we are very much on target on our handover,” he says.

This story is from the December 2017 edition of Gulf Business.

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