Close to 50 per cent of the 380 members of Hydra Investor Group favour taking a collective legal action against Hydra Properties than an independent approach, according to the group.

In an online survey conducted by the group, 45.5 per cent of the members (only 50 per cent responded to the survey) said they have legitimate objections to terms/understanding of any agreement and require legal assistance to uphold their understanding of the agreement and then proceed with purchase in Hydra Villa Abu Dhabi project.

The Dh150,000 capital requirement for start-up companies has been scrapped by the Government to help small businesses get off the ground without the burden of expensive red tape.

The change is expected to provide a boost to small and medium-sized limited liability firms which have been among the hardest hit by the global financial crisis.

Off-plan property sales are ‘dead’ and prices continue to slide, Mohanad Alwadiya, managing director of property adviser Harbor Real Estate has said.

While he said there were signs of stablisation of completed properties in areas such as downtown Dubai and the Palm Jumeirah, Alwadiya said investors lacked confidence in the off-plan market, where prices have slid up to 50 percent since the emirate’s property collapse last September.

After witnessing up to 60 per cent drop in average room rates for almost a year, Dubai hotels will see rates increasing by up to 30 per cent in the fourth quarter of this year, according to a senior executive at CBRE hotels.

"Between October 2009 and January 2010, the average room rates for Dubai hotels will go up by at least 20-30 per cent from their current levels," Amine Hamdani, Vice-President, Fund Advisory and Indirect Investment, CBRE Hotels, told Emirates Business.