Residential real estate prices are rebounding strongly, prompting the IMF to warn in July 2013 that “action will need to be taken to prevent a bubble”. The government has since implemented a series of changes to regulations aimed at cooling the market and dampening the effects of speculation.
Adding to an already impressive list of firsts, Dubai’s neighbouring emirate of Sharjah added its first sovereign ratings at the beginning of 2014. Moody’s and Standard & Poor’s (S&P) both place the UAE’s third-largest emirate well inside investment grade. Away from the glare of publicity, Sharjah was home to the first airport in the Gulf,...
In a speech delivered at a conference in Riyadh in early May 2012, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, the secretary-general of the GCC, addressed the numerous changes that have taken place in the region in recent years. “The new political, security and military challenges, at the regional and international levels, as well as insecurity in the Arab...
Supported by increasing tourist arrivals and the opening of several branded hotel chains, Dubai’s serviced apartment segment is poised for solid growth. The depth of demand for serviced apartments – so-called because a hotel operator provides services such as house cleaning, bed-making and Wi-Fi internet access – is closely connected to the...
If real estate bubbles divide into two simplistic categories – sellers’ deception and buyers unwilling to heed available information – then Dubai’s problems of four years ago were of the latter kind. In the US and elsewhere, mortgage salespeople propagated the idea that property ownership, often at unsustainable mortgage rates, was the key to future...
After Thailand withdrew its bid to stage the World Expo 2020, Dubai became the favourite to win, as São Paolo was thought to be too far away from much of the world’s population, and Yekaterinburg was slipping because Russia was suffering from (mainly Western) bad press, a phenomenon that equally applied to Izmir, Turkey. Weeks before the...
Stay updated on how some of the world’s most promising markets are being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, and what actions governments and private businesses are taking to mitigate challenges and ensure their long-term growth story continues.
Register now and also receive a complimentary 2-month licence to the OBG Research Terminal.
Register Here×