Abu Dhabi and Dubai Blog

“The fundamentals in the market are too strong,” he said. “There won’t be a crash.” These words were spoken last year by the head of the largest state development firm in Dubai. But it seems that things have changed:

Since then, residential real-estate prices in Dubai have slumped by almost 50%. Developers have slashed jobs and scrapped projects. Groundbreaking on the tower was long ago put on hold. The yearlong retrenchment culminated in last week’s surprise announcement that Dubai would seek to restructure $26 billion of debts owed by Dubai World, the holding company for many of the government’s port, infrastructure and real-estate businesses.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125988807548075805.html?mod=rss_Today%27s_Most_Popular

Some brief but astute comments from a blogger at the New Yorker:

Last Wednesday, Dubai asked to be excused six months of payments on a debt of fifty-nine billion dollars owned by Dubai World, the state-backed conglomerate. Yesterday, Dubai’s stocks fell 7.3 per cent; today they fell another 5.6 per cent. And the Gulf News, an English-language Dubai newspaper, has reported this online with the headline: “UAE markets bounce back at the end of trading sessions.”

http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2009/12/dubai-in-debt.html

This is a question more people are asking, given the turbulence in world financial markets this past week. The BBC provided this interesting analysis:

Although frequently described as a city state or even as a country in its own right, Dubai is a constituent member of the federation of United Arab Emirates along with six other emirates.

Only one of these, Abu Dhabi, possesses substantial oil reserves, and as such it has dominated most areas of federal politics – including foreign affairs and defence – since the UAE was formed following Britain’s withdrawal from the Persian Gulf in 1971.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8382275.stm

Former French intelligence officer Herve Jaubert believed he was essentially being held captive in Dubai when his passport was confiscated by authorities amid a dispute with his employer, a powerful government-run conglomerate. He claimed he was threatened with torture and worried each day he would be arrested.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jE1-VH9PrgVg27sL1tDZ8UFjifQgD9C5R0080

Interview with Dubai Metro boss:

Contrary to expectations, the average number of passengers using the Dubai Metro has gradually been increasing since its launch on September 9, thanks to some quick measures taken to improve various services at the Metro stations, a senior official has said.

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/traffic-transport/dubai-s-commuters-getting-used-to-the-metro-1.522049

This is a couple years old, but still a relevant and under reported topic. Brain Ross of ABC investigates:

Less than a week ago, a 15-year-old sex trade victim turned to Dubai Police to free her from her captors after she managed to escape with the assistance of a client. Captain Ahmad Obaid Bin Hadibah, Head of Dubai Police’s Department of Combating Human Trafficking, told Gulf News the section handled 15 cases of human trafficking in the first nine months of this year, which is close to the figure dealt with in the same period in 2008

http://gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/crime/dubai-turns-up-heat-on-human-traffickers-1.512618

The entire journey – starting from the welcome lobby at The Dubai Mall through a 65-metre travelator to the vertical travel in a double-deck elevator to finally watching the world uninterrupted from Level 124…a ten-part journey, ‘At The Top’ starts at The Dubai Mall, where visitors can buy tickets at a welcome area featuring abstract, monumental fields of LED displays, reflecting the original three-core design inspiration of Burj Dubai.

Travelling at a speed of 10 metres per second, the journey to Level 124 will take approximately 60 seconds. When the doors slide open, guests will be welcomed with floor-to-ceiling glass providing unobstructed 360 degree views. Visitors can also adventure outside onto the open-air deck to peer into the distance or down to the streets below.

http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/28/124811/915/travel/The+Impossibly+High+Burj+Dubai+Will+Have+124th-Floor+Observation+Deck

A development that was meant to send Dubai’s star into the firmament of First World cities has been left to the mercy of the waves and the baking winds.

Mile after mile of breakwater built from boulders brought hundreds of miles by ship has been laid, but inside its man-made lagoon, work has completely stopped.

The expected map of the world of 300 islands is instead a disjointed and desolate collection of sandy blots — a monumental folly just out of sight of Dubai’s shore.

http://www.independent.ie/world-news/middle-east/extravagant-dubai-island-project-sinks-under-weight-of-the-credit-crunch-1884856.html

Coinciding with the launch of the Dubai Metro, the five star Address Dubai Mall Hotel has now opened for business.

The luxury hotel features 244 elegant guestrooms and suites, all offering views of Downtown Burj Dubai.

A selection of international cuisine is available at the hotel’s five contemporary restaurants and lounges. Highlights include Arabic specialty outlet, NA3NA3, the trendy Amatista lounge offering a blend of Arabian and modern decor; the poolside restaurant Cabana offering cocktails and upbeat music; and Karat, the lobby lounge. Ember, the hotel’s signature outlet is soon to open.

http://www.hoteliermiddleeast.com/article-5666-the-address-dubai-mall-opens/