Dubai-based private equity firm Abraaj Capital said on Saturday that 2010 would be a significant investing year for private equity and that it was looking at opportunities in Middle East commercial properties to take advantage of cheap prices.

'Banks are still reluctant to lend and we haven't really seen significant IPO activity so therefore on a purely rational basis; I expect private equity next year is going to have a significant investing year... capital needs to be deployed,' chief executive Arif Naqvi told reporters on the sidelines of a conference.

Naqvi said Abraaj Capital would very soon be announcing investment initiatives in the commercial real estate sector in the region, but declined to give further details.

He said Abraaj had set up a $500 million commercial property fund two months ago and would be showing transactions within it 'imminently'.

Source: Trade Arabia News