Navid Chamdia and the new blueprint for cross-border capital intermediation in GCC real estate

The Gulf Cooperation Council real estate market, valued at USD 141.2 billion in 2025 according to IMARC Group, has long attracted capital through a relatively narrow set of corridors. Gulf-based brokerages, sovereign wealth relationships, and bilateral government channels dominated deal origination for decades. That architecture is now being restructured. A new generation of cross-border capital intermediaries, operating from positions within sovereign institutions, regulatory bodies, and alternative asset platforms, is reshaping how international capital enters and circulates across the region.

At the center of this reconfiguration stand figures such as Navid Chamdia, Head of Real Estate at Qatar Investment Authority; Divya Dattani, Senior Vice President at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM); Jorge Cantonnet, Director of Real Estate and Infrastructure at Abu Dhabi Pension Fund; and Jason Kow, CEO of Queensgate Investments. Each represents a distinct geographic origin, whether South Asian, European, or Latin American, and each operates at the intersection of institutional mandate and cross-jurisdictional execution. Together, they illustrate a structural shift: GCC deal origination is becoming decentralized, multi-origin, and increasingly oriented toward yield-generating, operationally intensive strategies.

Why is GCC real estate deal origination shifting away from traditional Gulf-based intermediaries?

The simplest answer is that the capital itself has diversified. Where Gulf real estate once attracted primarily regional sovereign wealth and high-net-worth individuals from the Indian subcontinent, the current market draws European alternative asset managers, Latin American family offices, and Asian institutional allocators in growing volume. A market projected to reach USD 260.3 billion by 2034, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate of 7.03% according to IMARC Group, requires intermediation infrastructure that matches the complexity and diversity of incoming capital.

Navid Chamdia's role at Qatar Investment Authority places him at a critical node. Sovereign wealth funds in the Gulf are no longer passive deployers of petrodollar surpluses into Western gateway cities. They are active structurers of domestic and regional real estate strategies, often co-investing alongside international partners. The intermediary function in this context demands deep understanding of both the originating capital's mandate and the regulatory environment of the destination market. Chamdia's position exemplifies this dual competency, bridging institutional governance standards with the fast-moving dynamics of Gulf real estate deployment.

Divya Dattani's work at ADGM, Abu Dhabi's international financial centre, represents a different but complementary dimension of the shift. ADGM has emerged as a regulatory gateway for international capital seeking structured entry into UAE real estate. Dattani's role in this ecosystem facilitates the creation of investment vehicles, fund structures, and compliance frameworks that allow European and Asian allocators to deploy capital with institutional-grade governance. The intermediation here is regulatory and structural, enabling capital flows that would otherwise face friction at the point of entry.

Jorge Cantonnet, directing real estate and infrastructure investments at Abu Dhabi Pension Fund, brings yet another perspective. Pension fund capital operates under fiduciary obligations that demand long-duration, income-producing strategies. Cantonnet's Latin American background and his institutional mandate converge in a profile that reflects the GCC's growing appeal to long-term, yield-focused allocators. The pension fund model, with its emphasis on operational real estate, logistics, and infrastructure-linked assets, is expanding the definition of what constitutes investable GCC real estate beyond the luxury residential and hospitality segments that have historically dominated headlines.

Jason Kow and Queensgate Investments represent the alternative asset management channel. Queensgate's focus on hospitality and operationally intensive real estate aligns with one of the GCC's most dynamic subsectors. During the first nine months of 2025, branded residence transactions in Dubai surged by 26% year-on-year, with transaction values climbing 51% to nearly USD 13.6 billion, according to CBRE. Branded residences in Dubai command an average price premium of 64% over comparable non-branded units, a margin that attracts sophisticated operators capable of managing the brand relationship, the operational complexity, and the capital structure simultaneously. Kow's European institutional network and operational expertise position Queensgate as a conduit for capital that seeks returns through management intensity rather than passive appreciation.

What makes this cohort of intermediaries structurally different from previous generations?

Three characteristics distinguish this emerging class of capital connectors.

First, they operate from within institutions rather than as independent brokers. Chamdia sits inside a sovereign wealth fund. Dattani operates within a regulatory authority. Cantonnet manages capital on behalf of a pension fund. Kow runs an institutional-grade platform. This institutional embedding gives them access to deal flow, co-investment opportunities, and information networks that independent intermediaries cannot replicate. The shift from brokerage-led to institution-embedded intermediation reflects the maturation of GCC real estate as an institutional asset class.

Second, they are multi-jurisdictional by biography and mandate. The GCC's capital intermediation historically depended on Gulf nationals or long-established expatriate communities with deep local networks. The current cohort brings professional networks that span South Asia, Latin America, Europe, and Southeast Asia. This geographic diversity is a direct response to the diversification of capital sources. An intermediary who understands both the fiduciary culture of a European pension fund and the regulatory landscape of Saudi Arabia's new foreign ownership framework adds value that a single-jurisdiction operator cannot.

Saudi Arabia's recently approved Law on Real Estate Ownership by Non-Saudis, which replaces the 2000 framework and took effect in January 2026, is a significant catalyst in this context. The law allows foreign individuals and entities to own property in designated zones and introduces a transaction fee of up to 5% on transfers involving non-Saudis. With Saudi Arabia's real estate revenues projected to grow to USD 201.4 billion by 2030 according to Grand View Research, the kingdom represents a massive new frontier for cross-border capital deployment, and one that demands intermediaries fluent in both international capital markets and evolving Saudi regulatory architecture.

Third, this cohort gravitates toward operationally intensive strategies rather than passive land banking or speculative development. The 187% growth rate in the MENA branded residences sector over the past five years, as documented by Savills, reflects a market that rewards operational sophistication. Hotels, branded residences, co-living platforms, and logistics assets all require active management, brand partnerships, and ongoing capital expenditure. The intermediaries facilitating capital into these sectors must understand operations, not merely transactions.

How should institutional investors navigate this decentralized intermediation landscape?

The decentralization of GCC deal origination creates both opportunity and complexity for institutional investors. Three strategic considerations emerge.

Capital allocators should map the intermediation ecosystem rather than rely on single-channel access. The GCC real estate market's growth trajectory, from USD 141.2 billion in 2025 to a projected USD 260.3 billion by 2034, will generate deal flow across multiple asset classes, jurisdictions, and risk profiles. No single intermediary, however well-positioned, covers the full spectrum. Investors benefit from cultivating relationships across the sovereign, regulatory, pension, and alternative asset management nodes that figures like Chamdia, Dattani, Cantonnet, and Kow represent.

Understanding the regulatory dimension is essential, not optional. The UAE's ADGM and DIFC frameworks, Saudi Arabia's new foreign ownership legislation, and Qatar's evolving investment authority mandates each create distinct entry points with different compliance requirements, fee structures, and ownership limitations. The intermediary's value increasingly lies in navigating this regulatory mosaic efficiently.

Finally, operational due diligence must match the shift toward management-intensive assets. The 64% price premium that branded residences command in Dubai, according to CBRE, is sustained only through consistent operational excellence. Capital entering this segment through cross-border intermediaries must assess the operator's capability as rigorously as the asset's location or the intermediary's network.

GRI Institute's ongoing research into cross-border capital flows and its convenings of senior real estate leaders across the Gulf provide a forum where these dynamics are examined in depth. The Institute's member community, which includes sovereign wealth professionals, regulatory officials, fund managers, and operators active across the GCC, reflects the very ecosystem that this new intermediation architecture serves. As the GCC market matures and its capital corridors multiply, the ability to convene decision-makers across jurisdictions and asset classes becomes a strategic advantage in itself.

The emergence of multi-origin intermediaries embedded within institutions marks a structural evolution in Gulf real estate. Capital no longer flows through a single gate. It enters through a distributed network of professionals whose institutional positions, jurisdictional fluency, and operational orientation define the next era of GCC deal-making. For investors seeking access to a market on trajectory toward USD 260.3 billion, understanding this network is a prerequisite for competitive deployment.