Dubai prince’s website unavailable after HK family office postponed

The website and LinkedIn page of Dubai prince Sheikh Ali Rashed Ali Saeed Al Maktoum’s private office are no longer available, after he was revealed to have been a singer known as "Alira" and had a fan base in the Philippines. This comes after he earlier postponed opening a US$500 million family office in Hong Kong to May. 

A check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw that the website of Sheikh Ali's family office indicates that it is currently inaccessible. Only information about the website service provider is visible, along with a message stating, "Looks like this domain isn’t connected to a website yet". Meanwhile, his LinkedIn account has also been removed.

Sheikh Ali's Hong Kong PR representative told local media that they were unaware of the website being taken down. It said that it is currently in contact with Sheikh Ali's team to understand the situation. It added that Sheikh Ali's team is currently on leave and will not have staff available until next Tuesday (16 April 2024).

According to multiple media reports such as HK01 and The Standard, the webpage introduced Prince Ali and included information about the team members in his family office. It also featured photos of Sheikh Ali participating in various events.

According to HK01's report, it has also been revealed that Hang Seng University of Hong Kong (HSUHK), which entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sheikh Ali on 26 March 2024 and appointed him as an honorary professor, has amended the related press release. All mentions of Sheikh Ali have been removed.

Meanwhile, HSUHK told local media that the MoU and the appointment remain effective. MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to HSUHK for a statement.

Sheikh Ali, who claims to come from Dubai's ruling family, had initially planned to hold a press conference in March to announce the opening of his family office in Hong Kong, with an investment of HK$500 million. However, the press conference was suddenly postponed and rescheduled to the end of May.

On 2 April 2024, a report by the SCMP unveiled that Sheikh Ali, also known as Alira, had a fan base in the Philippines as a singer-songwriter. Another report by SCMP on 27 March 2024 also stated that Sheikh Ali is considered a "distant relative" of the ruling family, rather than being referred to as the "nephew" of the vice president, prime minister, and ruler of Dubai.

On 18 March 2024, Sheikh Al was interviewed by Bloomberg, where he announced plans to open a family office in Hong Kong with a planned investment of HK$500m. He was later interviewed by Hong Kong China News Agency (HKCNA), where he revealed his business plans.

According to HK01, both Bloomberg and HKCNA referred to Sheikh Ali as the "nephew" of the vice president, prime minister, and ruler of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. However, Bloomberg later changed their phrasing to describe him as a "relative." Meanwhile, HKCNA has retained the term "nephew" in its article, a check by MARKETING-INTERACTIVE saw.

MARKETING-INTERACTIVE has reached out to the government for a statement. 

Photo courtesy: LIHKG

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