Mr Dubai, reporting for duty

It has been quite a learning curve for Abdul Rahman al Saleh, the 45-year-old director general of Dubai’s Department of Finance (DoF).

Having spent most of his career labouring anonymously in the engine room of Dubai Inc, he suddenly found himself a fortnight ago in the position of the emirate’s chief salesman abroad.

Mr al Saleh was the linchpin of Dubai’s global roadshow that completed its recent world tour with a deal to raise nearly US$2 billion (Dh7.34bn) on the international capital markets.

The deal, which was three times over-subscribed, proved an important confidence-boosting achievement for Dubai, was clinched on the London leg of the roadshow, where he was prominent among the emirate’s delegation selling conventional bonds and sukuks.

Dealing with the hard-nosed cynics of international finance would not have been a familiar role for him. “He is a government man through and through,” says a westerner who has worked with him.

Not that Mr al Saleh lacks financial expertise. His path to the hot seat of the DoF was marked by solid achievement in the development of a more efficient financial infrastructure in the emirate. As a qualified chartered accountant, he has the knowledge to understand and solve complex financial problems.END