“Last night at dinner, people had their heads in their hands,” a British expatriate said as she fretted about the viability of her new fashion business. Local newspapers have in recent months played down the impact of the financial crisis. No one now can be in any doubt.
As the gravity of Dubai’s debt problems has crystallised over the past couple of days, white-collar workers have once again become troubled about their jobs and even the solvency of the banking system. Business owners are worried about outstanding payments, especially from units belonging to troubled Dubai World, the government-owned holding company.
Some of Dubai’s 1.2m expatriates were on Friday considering cleaning out their bank accounts on Monday, the first day of business after Eid al-Adha, the ”Feast of Sacrifice” holiday weekend. This was in spite of the federal government guaranteeing deposits at the start of the crisis last year.
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