Economy
From The Report: Dubai 2014
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As the emirate celebrates its victory in the bid to host World Expo 2020, infrastructure and transport development is expected to attract significant investment over the next few years. GDP growth reached 4.9% in the first half of 2013, the strongest result for the January-June period since 2008. Trade, the strongest of the emirate’s economic foundations, continues to grow, with non-oil foreign trade increasing by almost 10% over the first three quarters of 2013, totalling some $275bn. There are concerns that the circumstances that led up to the post-2008 boom-bust cycle are reappearing, however, measures have already been taken to prevent or at least dampen the kind of speculative fever that laid the emirate low four years ago.

This chapter contains interviews with: Hamad Buamim, President and CEO, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Sami Al Qamzi, Director-General, Department of Economic Development.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

All systems go: The emirate is bouncing back strongly from the recent downturn
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Like a latter-day Phoenix, Dubai’s economy has risen from the ashes and is soaring high and fast. So strong is the take-off that the crucial revenue-earning tourism sector has achieved a rare trio of simultaneous plusses – rising hotel rates, an increasing number of visitors and a growing quantity of hotel rooms. Trade, the strongest of the emirate’s economic foundations, broke the trillion-dirham barrier in the third quarter of 2013. The bustling retail business, already offering among the…

Analysis

Acorns to oak trees: Using incubators to help establish local SMEs
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The recognition of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) as generators of jobs has become a proven fine art in Dubai, with the establishment of a dedicated agency inside the Department of Economic Development (DED). Between 1000 and 1200 would-be entrepreneurs approach the agency annually seeking advice, help and sometimes practical assistance as well. Abdul Baset Al Janahi, CEO of Dubai SME, told OBG that every year around 400 of them succeed in launching a business, of whom about half,…

Interview

OBG talks to Hamad Buamim, President and CEO, Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI)
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Interview:Hamad Buamim To what extent is Dubai positioned to facilitate African companies’ growth into the global market? HAMAD BUAMIM: African firms can use Dubai as a base to expand or trade in Middle Eastern, European and Asian markets. Also, the emirate is home to an extensive infrastructure, banking and financial sector, and modern legal system, which operate to international standards. The hosting of the fourth Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa Investment Forum in 2011…

Interview

OBG talks to Sami Al Qamzi, Director-General, Department of Economic Development
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Interview:Sami Al Qamzi What measures are being put in place to ensure the sustainability of Dubai’s economic recovery? SAMI AL QAMZI: Dubai’s rapid development has seen its fair share of challenges, but the government is confident of its ability to meet them successfully. Debts of government-related entities (GREs) are being restructured or rescheduled through negotiations with creditors. In addition, the government has converted some of its own loans into equity, sometimes providing…

Analysis

Hosting the world: World Expo 2020 is set to provide a major boost for the economy
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After Thailand withdrew its bid to stage the World Expo 2020, Dubai became the favourite to win, as São Paolo was thought to be too far away from much of the world’s population, and Yekaterinburg was slipping because Russia was suffering from (mainly Western) bad press, a phenomenon that equally applied to Izmir, Turkey. Weeks before the announcement, some highly placed Emiratis began to feel the bid was won. One factor that had perhaps helped Dubai more than the misfortunes of its rival…

Analysis

Lessons from the past: Efforts are being made to prevent the creation of a housing bubble
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If real estate bubbles divide into two simplistic categories – sellers’ deception and buyers unwilling to heed available information – then Dubai’s problems of four years ago were of the latter kind. In the US and elsewhere, mortgage salespeople propagated the idea that property ownership, often at unsustainable mortgage rates, was the key to future financial success. In Dubai, speculators with a keen nose for a quick profit, but little interest in purchasing a long-term property, were…

Analysis

One more first: Positive ratings could cut Sharjah’s borrowing costs
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Adding to an already impressive list of firsts, Dubai’s neighbouring emirate of Sharjah added its first sovereign ratings at the beginning of 2014. Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) both place the UAE’s third-largest emirate well inside investment grade. Away from the glare of publicity, Sharjah was home to the first airport in the Gulf, which was opened in 1932. The airport served as a stop-off point for flights from the UK to India, the first container terminal in the region,…