Face-to-face: What's the future for the UAE?

Should there be a focus on government-funded projects to pull the industry through the downturn?

Yousuf Sharaf, Sharaf Industries, Managing Director: Projects like the metro, which has been funded by the government, will continue but will be slower than before just like any other projects. It all depends on the strategies of the business.

Salvatore Saker, Green Precast CEO: The government funded projects are pretty much holding the economy together. In times like this, where the private investor hangs onto his cash, it is the leaders, in many markets, that realise it is up to themselves to keep the economy thriving and providing work. Housing in most countries dominates between 30% to 60% of any economy and it certainly will for the next 15 years.