Of all the glitzy emirates on the western shore of the Gulf, Dubai is easily the brashest. With the grenade it has just lobbed into the capital markets by calling for a six-month creditor standstill for its flagship Dubai World holding company, it is effortlessly living down to that reputation.
Dubai’s action looks like either a serious misjudgment or, more likely, a breathtaking cock-up.
Either way, it leaves a trail of unanswered questions that has done real damage to its reputation – and to its vaulting ambition to emerge as the region’s financial centre and trading hub, the Singapore and Hong Kong of the Gulf. Today, Dubai is looking more like Argentina, but less predictable – its behaviour is genuinely baffling.
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