Page 296 - SOBHA REALTY PR REPORT - SEPTEMBER 2024

Company: Sobha Realty
Industry: Real estate

Kerala-born Omani businessman Puthan Naduvakkatt Chenthamaraksha Menon, better known as
PNC Menon, has made a mark on the UAE’s real estate landscape thanks to his Sobha Group of
Companies, a multinational real estate and construction group with diversified global interests and
a footprint across India and the GCC.

Menon moved to Oman in the 1970s to work as an interior designer on projects such as the Sultan
Qaboos Grand Mosque and Al Bustan Palace Hotel, working with royalty and diplomats across the
world. In 1995, the Sultan of Oman granted citizenship to Menon and his family.
That same year, Menon saw opportunities in the real estate industry back home, launching Sobha
Developers in Bangalore, naming the company after his wife. It is now a publicly listed $1bn market-
cap company with a presence across 24 cities and 13 states in India, having delivered more than
100 million square feet of residential and commercial projects since inception. Today, the company
is run by Menon’s son, Ravi, an engineer from Purdue University, while Menon lives in Dubai.
Capitalising on the booming market

In 2003, he launched Sobha Middle East in the UAE, entering the luxury market with a mission to
provide residential development, construction, glazing, metal works, and furniture manufacturing.
It is now a thriving company that has turned him into a billionaire property developer and one of the
country’s most successful real estate moguls.
Sobha has myriad noteworthy real estate projects under its banner, including the $4bn resort-style
luxury housing development Sobha Hartland in Dubai’s Mohammed Bin Rashid City, encompassing
eight million square feet of freehold community and mixed-use development, with 30 percent of the
community reserved for green and open spaces. Another pinnacle project includes District One, an
$8bn joint venture with Meydan Group that includes 1,500 ultra-luxury villas.

Philanthropy in action
Menon is also a dedicated philanthropist, having launched initiatives such as Sobha Hermitage,
Sobha Rural Women Empowerment Programme, Sri Kurumba Educational and Charitable Trust,
Sobha Icon, Sobha Healthcare Centre, Sobha Social Weddings, Sobha Vocational Training Centre,
Sobha Academy, and Sobha Green Initiative. Furthermore, he serves on the board of governors of
the Rashid Centre for People of Determination in Dubai and is a valued partner of the Al Jalila
Foundation. In 2016, he and his wife signed The Giving Pledge, a campaign by the Bill and Melinda
Gates Foundation and Warren Buffet to donate 50 percent of their wealth to charity.

It is perhaps no wonder that Menon has been awarded with many prestigious accolades, including
the Golden Peacock Lifetime Achievement Award for Business Leadership by the Institute of
Directors, a Lifestyle Achievement Award by NDTV Property Awards and the Pravasi Bharatiya
Samman Puraskar, given to him in 2009 by the then-president of India, Pratibha Patil. Additionally,
Menon serves as a member of the Prime Minister’s Advisory Council of Overseas Indians.

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