No one yet wants to predict the economic impact of the ongoing unrest that is gripping the Arab world. For the likes of Egypt, Tunisia and Bahrain, which are not big oil exporters, the mind boggles.
But elsewhere it is not all bad news. The seven emirates of the UAE – well, two of them – have been having a solid 2011. Whisper it quietly but Dubai, a sunny place for shady people, has been doing rather nicely. It is quite like the old days.
Ignoring the emirate’s ongoing debt problems and last year’s major restructurings of state related enterprises, Sami Al Qamzi, director general of Dubai’s department of economic development, claimed at a conference last week that “interest in Dubai as a safe hub for investments has increased during the past two to three years … This interest has increased lately, especially with Dubai offering sound infrastructure and stability for businesses”. Two to three years.
No comments:
Post a Comment