The Middle East

The strong fiscal position of the UAE has meant that it has never been compelled to turn to the debt markets to balance its budgets, and comments in recent years by the federal government suggest that this is not likely to change in the short term. While the government has moved to formulate legislation that would allow for public debt issuances...

In the decades since the formation of the International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) in the early 1980s, Abu Dhabi has become an important investor in foreign energy and energy-related concerns. In addition to the IPIC, which has holdings around the world, both the Abu Dhabi National Energy Company (TAQA) and the Mubadala Development...

Over the past decade the emirate’s reputation as a centre for the security, aerospace and defence industry has grown rapidly, both within the Middle East and around the world. The government has played a key role in this expansion, in an effort to strengthen the UAE’s defence capabilities and as a means of boosting economic diversification....

While Abu Dhabi’s rapidly expanding defence industry is primarily focused on manufacturing and supplying equipment for local and international military entities, in recent years it has also become a major contributor to an unexpected sector: tourism. Local hotels and other tourism-related players have benefitted considerably from the numerous...