Madayen Starts Fund to Build 35 Islamic Hotels, Al Bayan Says

Madayen Holding started a fund to invest in building 35 Islamic hotels in the next three years, Al Bayan reported, citing chairman Omer Al Thahiri.

The Abu Dhabi-based company will build 70 percent of those hotels in Saudi Arabia and the rest in the United Arab Emirates. Madayen plans to expand its two, three and four star hotels into Turkey and Malaysia, the newspaper said.

Islamic hotels include mosques and separate common areas such as gymnasiums for men and women, with alcohol sales banned.

To contact the reporter on this story: Zainab Fattah in Dubai on zfattah@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Andrew Blackman at ablackman@bloomberg.net.