UAE: Dubai

Dubai has cleared the way for private investors to enter the emirate’s public transport sector, having laid the foundations for a partial privatisation of some operations in the state’s growing rail, road and waterborne networks.

Dubai is to change the way it powers itself, having announced a long-term plan to diversify the emirate’s energy sector away from dependence on imported gas and towards a broad-based mix of fuels for its power stations. However, that energy security could come at a cost.

Dubai’s capital markets are much better placed to handle the recent economic fall-out in the US and the eurozone, having learned several lessons from the 2008 global crisis and its own downturn two years ago.

Dubai’s property market is validating the adage that the three most important factors in real estate are location, location, location. While much of the market is expected to post modest gains this year before rebounding more strongly in 2012, residential and commercial properties close to the emirate’s growing metro network are increasing in popularity and value at a healthier pace.

Underpinned by rising tourist arrivals and heating demand in the local economy, Dubai’s retail sector appears set to enter a period of solid growth. A recent study conducted by market research company RNOCS said that a strong tourism sector, combined with rising consumer confidence and soaring domestic consumption, would fuel growth in the retail sector across the UAE, with Dubai having become the focus of retail construction developments in the country.

Dubai’s economy is maintaining a steady pace of recovery, with confidence returning to the marketplace, investor appetite again being whetted and some of the longer-term development schemes starting to repay the faith and capital placed in them, though the need for care in managing the emirate’s debt burden remains key.