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I wrote a piece about Dubai and the current downturn. Anyone interested, take a peek

http://invezztor.blogspot.com/2009/03/d ... slump.html

Very interesting, indeed, so is Dubai going to be a ghost town soon?

butter expert

It's not the first downturn to hit this market, however it is certainly the biggest, ghost town may be going a little far.
Lets wait and see, how it looks in a couple of months.

This is happening everywhere. Is there a place which is coping better than Dubai outside UAE ?

DoubleDigit wrote:This is happening everywhere. Is there a place which is coping better than Dubai outside UAE ?

The first step to cope with the "problem" is to admit the "problem" exists. "Outside UAE" is admitting the problem, we know we are in deep sh!t. Have you heard President Obama's inauguration speech and every speech since then? Probablt not. But if you do get a chance it would be a novel idea for you because it doesn't exist here. Its your head in the sand mentality that were talking about. Pick up any local newspaper and everything is fine and all the projects are on schedule. Who are they kidding?????? Nothing but themselves. The word is out. The whole world knows that Dubai was nothing but a big ponzi scheme that puts even Benie to shame.

Robby G u dnt even reside in Dubai, and yet u keep urself so updated!
Very impressive indeed!

Wow the smoke curtain bit is scary...But what do u think is the soloution to this mess? I mean is it simply scaling down mammoth investments? Although Dubai does have a pretty diversified economy.. In time the economy will pick up again, as long as Dubai can control it's debt! In the process though, I guess one will see ample joblessness, but as long as the natives i.e the locals are not adversly affected, then i dnt see y the ruling family/government has to fret! Although going foward I dnt see too many of Dubai's extremely ambitious projects being proposed any time soon!
As to Abu-Dhabi imposing tradidition and conservatism on Dubai.....Naah thats far fetched! The UAE economy is embracing FII and FDI! So Dubai's reputation as investor friendly, is off high importance! Besides more than big brother support, Dubai needs FDI big time!

What are FII and FDI?

gamercowboy wrote:What are FII and FDI?

Good question! MCL, please explain.

No, I don't think AD will impose their religious conservatism on Dubai, although it might happen by political influence. Behaviour remains quite a difference between Western and islamic culture. Not everybody (citizen or politician) is openly lined up like they are in Dubai, keep that in mind.

I have the utter belief that Dubai will make it trough these harsh times with the help of AD. Without AD, Dubai would have been defaulting by now. Its the truth. The liabilities of $80 billion in debt in relation to the balance sheet worth $1300 billion is approx. 6 percent. Thats nothing to worry about for a developing country. The question however is this; Do those numbers correspond anywhere close to the real debt liability situation. I think the liabilities ratio is somewhere in the range of 5 to 15 percent.

naruto wrote:butter expert

True. Check out my butter sculpture

FDI- Foreign Direct Investment
FII- Foreign Institutional Investors

I have this monitoring tool on my weblog so I can track who comes and goes during the hours of the day.

I've just launched the site 5 days ago and since inception I received visitors from all over the world.

Canada (2)
USA (10)
Mexico (1)
Argentina (1)
Portugal (1)
Spain (1)
France (1)
Italy (1)
Switzerland (1)
Germany (1)
United Kingdom (3)
Sweden (1)
Netherlands (2) including me
Russia (1)
Pakistan (1)
Dubai (19)
Abu Dhabi (1)
Malaysia (1)
Phillipines (1)
Australia (3)

This shows the broad audience Dubai Forums covers. I must admit I'm active on an American Gold Price website but those are mostly watched by Americans.

Anyway nice to know 'my readers' a bit better

K-Dog wrote:

DoubleDigit wrote:This is happening everywhere. Is there a place which is coping better than Dubai outside UAE ?

The first step to cope with the "problem" is to admit the "problem" exists. "Outside UAE" is admitting the problem, we know we are in deep sh!t. Have you heard President Obama's inauguration speech and every speech since then? Probablt not. But if you do get a chance it would be a novel idea for you because it doesn't exist here. Its your head in the sand mentality that were talking about. Pick up any local newspaper and everything is fine and all the projects are on schedule. Who are they kidding?????? Nothing but themselves. The word is out. The whole world knows that Dubai was nothing but a big ponzi scheme that puts even Benie to shame.

What will the speeches of President Obama will deliver, this only the time will tell. The problem is there for everybody and I just wanted to know if any place is coping better than Dubai outside "UAE" . Apparently according to you with my head in the sand implies that yours is in the air, perhaps you can enlighten me on the subject.

robby, how do you insert a picture in a message

[img ]http:blalblabla.jpg[/img ]

Remove the spaces and make sure the hyperlink in between ends with jpg.

Dubai a ghost town ?

Looks tranquilizing don't you think?

Might be relaxed for the zombie souls still out there

Just kidding guys. Got my bag already packed, so to say.

excellent article and well written Robby

Thanks for all the compliments and criticism.
Hopefully the criticism will get its supporting arguments soon because the butter tastes flawless at this moment. Add a bit of salt please

Thank you Robby...
"Dubai may yet weather the storm"...these are the words I wanted to hear...

Glad I could help support your continuous dream-like state of mind

Ghost town wtf? head to visa application center there are loads of ppl applying ........ Dubai is back to 2004-2005 level. Just real estate is dying.

Can anyone help with the following;

When you click on my website. Do you see a small Twitter login screen appear?

I wonder if this only happens with my ip-adress or with everyone who visits the site.

Thanks in advance.

herve wrote:robby, how do you insert a picture in a message

i want to know too.

RobbyG wrote:Can anyone help with the following;

When you click on my website. Do you see a small Twitter login screen appear?

I wonder if this only happens with my ip-adress or with everyone who visits the site.

Thanks in advance.

Yep. I get the Twitter login too!

Robby,
You told me some weeks ago not to talk of business depression in Dubai. It irritated you. Now you have given a detailed summation on your blog. You CONFIRM what I said. Arniegang has also said it.

I told you what my well-travelled banker friend said in January, after being in Dubai over Christmas.

He said......."Most projects are on stop" .......and "My contact in the UAE govt says that Abu Dhabi would NEVER let Dubai fail......because they cannot AFFORD to do so!!"

They are part of the same country with the SAME CURRENCY after all!!
A disaster in Dubai will affect Abu Dhabi as well!
I'm not saying anything new. However, you have been loathe to admit the extent of the Dubai problem until now.

Without Abu Dhabi........Dubai would be in SERIOUS SH*TE !!!!

You must have been mistaken. How wrong could you be!

I have always agreed with the current housing slump. Maybe you wrongly interpretated my rant against you back then. It was merely to point out your continuous and repeating message about Dubai's real estate sector. It was a bit over done in my opinion.

When you write such hardtalk once, you don't have to repeat it each time is basically what I said. We know.... remember?

Look at this from perspective. By the way, is it still worrying you?
Hope not....

RobbyG wrote:You must have been mistaken. How wrong could you be!

I have always agreed with the current housing slump. Maybe you wrongly interpretated my rant against you back then. It was merely to point out your continuous and repeating message about Dubai's real estate sector. It was a bit over done in my opinion.

When you write such hardtalk once, you don't have to repeat it each time is basically what I said. We know.... remember?

Look at this from perspective. By the way, is it still worrying you?
Hope not....

Dubai will Regain its
Momentum: CEOs
Staff Report


18 March 2009
DUBAI - Dubai’s hard-charging economy has slowed to a crawl, but it should eventually regain its momentum and create plenty of fresh investment and trading opportunities in the UAE and elsewhere in the Middle East.

That, at least, is the message business leaders from some 16 countries heard on Tuesday from counterparts based in Dubai and other commercial centers in the Gulf region. In spite of the global economic tailspin, more than 100 senior executives who believe Dubai has robust long-term potential gathered here for a networking forum to see for themselves how they might profit from for the emirate’s eventual recovery.

“Dubai is a good barometer for the Middle East,” said Oliver Rothschild, a member of Europe’s storied Rothschild banking dynasty. His initial impression, after arriving on Monday for the two-day CONNECT-World CEO Forum: “It’s not all doom and gloom.”

In fact, Rothschild, a Non-Executive Director of British software developer Tripleplay Services, Ltd., says the recession seems to have done little to weaken demand in the UAE for new and improved information technology. “Funny enough, with IT, we’ve found it has been quite the reverse,” he said.

While Rothschild believes that the UAE probably won’t recover from the recession any faster than other parts of the world, he said that the nation’s oil wealth gives it a big advantage. “It has a resource that the rest of the world needs.”

Trevor Stokes, who leads efforts to attract new business for the Bahrain Economic Development Board, agreed that the economic fortunes of the Gulf and the rest of Middle East are still linked closely to the price of crude oil. But he added that this is no bad thing.

“One thing’s for certain,” Stokes said. “There’s only one way for the price of oil to go, and that’s up.”
The Middle East is therefore well placed to recover, in contrast to other, more developed markets, he said. “The balloon may have deflated, but it definitely has not burst,” Stokes said, adding that he expected the region to achieve an economic growth rate this year of between three to four per cent.

About 340 senior executives have signed up for the CEO forum, which is being held at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. The turnout is down 20 per cent from last year’s forum, due largely to the recession and a drop in the number of participants from China, said James Magee, the event’s founder and organizer.

Some executives suggested that Dubai has been punished unfairly by negative media reports that have focused on the severe downturn in its property and tourism industries. Omar Hijazi, Chief Executive Officer of Tejari, a company specialising in e-commerce, dismissed international media reports predicting the “demise of Dubai” and said that the healthcare industry was set to become an important source of business in the emirate.

“Healthcare is the pan-objective for Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Dubai has over-achieved Los Angeles in the healthcare industry,” Hijazi said, adding that Dubai offers a huge market for plastic surgery. Dubai also is a major hub for auto parts distribution, with nearly 50 per cent of auto parts arriving in Dubai being distributed to other countries in the region.

“Any crisis, be it financial or otherwise, also contains an opportunity,” said Dr. Ashfaq Ishaq, a Senior Advisor to the Business Council for International Understanding, a private, non-profit business association in the US. In many ways, the current downturn is “a very good time” for companies in the US and Middle East to explore avenues for trade and investment, Ishaq said. He explained that people are taking more time “to think and reflect” instead of making rash decisions that they may regret later.

Still, the recession is making it harder for Ishaq’s group to persuade US firms to look abroad for business. “It has been very tough. Travel budgets are down. People are pursuing concrete opportunities rather than [thinking], ‘OK, let’s explore business opportunities.’”

One encouraging development is that some small and medium-sized firms in the US appear to be showing interest for the first time in Dubai and the rest of the Middle East.

Morris Reid, Managing Director of the BGR Group, a Washington-based lobbying firm, argued that US President Barack Obama has closer ties to small and mid-sized businesses than to Fortune 500 heavyweights and that this creates unprecedented opportunities for smaller businesses in both the Middle East and the US.

One such firm is Adirondack Direct, a furniture distributor headquartered in New York. Gloria Cressler, the firm’s international sales manager, came to the forum seeking deals to supply furniture to local schools and hospitals.

“You know, everybody is coming to Dubai,” Cressler said. “That’s why I want to do some business here.”

http://www.khaleejtimes.com/biz/inside. ... aebusiness