Dubai pins hopes on return to basics

Dubai’s financial centre is to refocus on its core business of attracting financial institutions as the indebted emirate seeks to shrug off past excesses, according to its governor.

Ahmad al-Tayer, a former finance minister who has gained influence as Dubai seeks to revive its economy, said the tax-free Dubai International Financial Centre was to restructure to boost competitiveness.

This process, moulded by a report from McKinsey, the consultants, has included dozens of redundancies as the DIFC tries to keep costs down. But it will be complemented by attempts to attract financial institutions by pledges of a more competitive leasing structure.