Donald Trump's global properties: A web of local alliances

President Donald Trump, whose real estate interests span the globe, has long depended on locally prominent developers, often with political connections, to erect buildings with his name on them. That has sometimes led to its own series of complications, ranging from the financial collapse of his Korean partner to objections in Canada about his views on immigration.

Mr. Trump has turned over operations of his Trump Organization to his two eldest sons, Donald Jr. and Eric -- a step meant to defuse accusations about conflicts of interest. (Indeed, the sons on Tuesday are slated to be in Vancouver, British Columbia, to cut the ribbon on the latest Trump hotel and condo venture.) A request to the company for comment on its global operations was not answered.

Hurt by debt-burdened buildings that he financed in the 1990s, when he almost went bust, the Trump M.O. nowadays is to strike licensing deals with other developers who put up the money. The Trump Organization provides its brand name and guidance in construction, then serves as building manager. Nevertheless, it's often unclear what specific arrangements the Trump company has with its overseas partners.

In Indonesia, plans are in place to build two luxury resorts, one in Bali overlooking a grand Hindu temple and one in West Java. Mr. Trump's campaign disclosure form said he has received up to $10 million for these two projects. His local business partner, Hary Tanoesoedibjo, is a billionaire media mogul who has run for national office and is starting a new political party. The website Breitbart.com last month described him in a flattering profile as "maybe Indonesia's next president." How these projects will proceed and when are not known.

At the same time, the Trump Organization has shown that it will ax a project if the local business climate sours. That was the case in Azerbaijan, an oil-dependent former Soviet republic, bordering Iran to the south with a population that's 97 percent Muslim. When oil prices plunged, the country's economy tanked. The Trump firm in December pulled out of a licensing arrangement for an almost-completed but unopened 33-story, sail-shaped hotel-condo building in the capital, Baku.

When the president announced his temporary ban on allowing people from seven Muslim-majority countries, some critics objected that none of them contained a Trump-branded property. What those critics often failed to acknowledge, however, was that none of the seven countries are attractive to business travelers and high-end tourists: Iran, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Libya, Somalia and Yemen are unstable, war-torn or, in Iran's case, a dictatorship.

And it's the tony locales that the Trumps want to be in, as you'll see in the following pages. Those have had headaches and complications, too. But the plan is to team up with local movers and shakers to make things happen.

Read on for a look at some of the Trump Organization's real estate holdings around the world.

DUBAI

Both of Mr. Trump's sons were on hand for the Feb. 18 gala opening of their golf course in the United Arab Emirates city of Dubai. Called the Trump International Golf Club Dubai, the property's debut party featured wealthy guests, a red carpet and a fireworks display. The property has a 30,000-square-foot clubhouse and four restaurants.

Indications are that the club is attracting members. Michael Underhill, co-manager of RidgeWorth Capital Innovations Global Resources and Infrastructure Fund, who is familiar with Middle East real estate, said 60 have signed up, ahead of the developers' expectations. Among the upper crust of the region, he said, "Trump's name remains undiminished, regardless of his policies."

The Trump's local partner is luxury developer Damac Properties, headed by Dubai-based billionaire Hussain Sajwani. He is building another course in Dubai with the Trump Organization, designed by renowned pro Tiger Woods.

Sajawani has had contracts with the U.S. military in the past, starting with the first Persian Gulf War in 1991, according to The New York Times. He has known Mr. Trump for years. Last year, Forbes put Sajawani's net worth at $3.1 billion, and called him "The Donald of Dubai."

At Mr. Trump's January press conference, to underscore his willingness to avoid conflicts of interest, the president said he had just been offered a new $2 billion deal in Dubai from Sajwani and said no. "I turned it down," Mr. Trump said. "I didn't have to turn it down. ... But I don't want to take advantage of something."

INSTANBUL

In Turkey, the Trump group has licensing deals on two existing side-by-side buildings, both 40 stories, called Trump Towers Istanbul. One building is residential, the other is offices. The property also has a shopping mall. Opened in 2012, it generated $5 million for the Trump Organization last year, the president's regulatory filings from his campaign show.

The Trump firm's partner is Dogan Sirketler Grubu Holdings, a Turkish industrial conglomerate, headed by billionaire Aydin Dogan. In addition to an extensive real estate empire, Dogan has large media holdings, including five newspapers and three TV stations. Its stock surged on the Istanbul exchange after Mr. Trump's election win.

The president's relations with Turkey have been touch and go, but things look positive at the moment. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the complex's opening ceremony five year ago. But last year, he castigated Mr. Trump for his perceived anti-Muslim remarks and called for removing the president's name from the buildings.

The situation seemed to improve after the two had a phone conversation in early February, in which they spoke of their common commitment to fighting terrorism.

MUMBAI

This large project, now under construction, illustrates the challenges facing the Trumps. The Washington Post reported that Trump Tower Mumbai, a 75-story luxury apartment building that will have a façade of gold-tinted glass, has sold only half its units since its 2014 announcement.

A former employee for the developer, the Lodha Group, told the Post that just one apartment was sold since Mr. Trump's mid-2015 announcement he was running for president. While India has only a minority Muslim population, he remains a controversial figure to some in the Hindu majority.

More recently, his fortunes in the subcontinent haven't been helped by India's ongoing currency crisis. Prime Minister Narenda Modi's crackdown on large bills used in the black market has hurt the real estate industry. Indian publication Mint says Modi's action has slashed housing sales in the nation by half since its November announcement. Mumbai, India's financial capital, has been especially hard hit.

The Lodha company was launched by Mangal Prabhat Lodha, who's a high official in Modi's political party. Just as Mr. Trump has done, Lodha has handed over operation of his firm to his sons.

SEOUL

The Trumps' ties run deep with their partner in the South Korean venture, which began in the late 1990s. Daewoo Engineering & Construction built Trump World Tower in Manhattan, a residential skyscraper near the U.N. headquarters that opened in 2001.

In Seoul, their partnership has produced Trump World -- six luxury condominium towers in Seoul, Busan and Daegu. Its last building was opened in 2007.

But their association was fraught from the beginning. The Korean development company's parent collapsed into insolvency amid allegations of accounting fraud. The parent's chairman, Kim Woo Choong, fled the country but later returned and was convicted of embezzlement and sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Eventually, the Daewoo Group was broken up -- the conglomerate was into everything from making heavy machinery to shipbuilding to textile weaving. But sorting out the mess delayed the rollout of the Trump-branded properties.

VANCOUVER

On Tuesday, the Trump brothers are scheduled to open Trump International Hotel and Tower in this Western Canadian seaport city. The local developer is the Holborn Group, headed by Joo Kim Tiah.

Tiah is backed by TA Enterprise, the Kuala Lumpur-based company of his father, Tony Tiah Thee Kian, one of Malaysia's wealthiest businessmen. All the units in the 57-story building have been sold, local media have reported. Sales from the Trump Vancouver property represented the largest share of TA Global profits in 2015, according to the Financial Times.

Tiah told the FT he has not invited any politicians to the opening event. "Though two Trumps are on the guest list, Donald Jr. and Eric," he said. "I don't want it to be misinterpreted. It's a business event."

The Trump project has sparked controversy in Vancouver, however. Mr. Trump's pronouncements on immigrants prompted the city's mayor to ask that the president's name be removed from the building. At last look, it hasn't been.