Dubai Investment News

Dubai to stage F1 test events?

The state-of-the-art Dubai Autodrome could be set to host Formula 1 (F1) test races, it has been suggested.A meeting took place in Montreal earlier this month, where teams agreed to extend the in-season testing process.Although there has been no decision as to which venues will stage these trial races, there is a distinct possibility that Dubai will be a popular choice among F1 bosses.The Autodrome certainly ticks all the boxes, as a number of current drivers are familiar with the track.Indeed, Romain Grosjean, Jean Eric Vergne, Pastor Maldonado, Sergio Perez and Nico Hulkenberg have all taken a car around the course in the past, while Kamui Kobayashi holds the track's lap time record.The Japanese driver set the fastest time ever seen at the track – one minute and 41 seconds – during the GP2 Asia race in 2008.FIA (Federation Internationale de l'Automobile) F1 race director Charlie Whiting visited the site earlier this year and confirmed it was still worthy of its FIA Grade 1 Circuit License – allowing it to hold fully-fledged F1 testing events.General manager at Dubai Autodrome Richard Birch told the facility's Track Talk news website: “Of course we would welcome the opportunity to host F1 testing at our venue. We have the facilities and Dubai has all the infrastructure required for a week of testing.”At this stage it is merely talk and speculation as the final decision is not in our hands or even been made as far as we know.”Dubai is steadily building itself a strong reputation for hosting major sporting events and securing the rights to stage F1 testing would be a big coup.The emirate is renowned for being a glamorous playground for the rich and famous, which makes it a perfect destination for the extremely lucrative motor racing industry.Neighbouring city Abu Dhabi is set to host an F1 grand prix at its impressive Yas Marina track in November 2013. Continue reading

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RTA could bring Dubai Metro expansion forward

Leaders at Dubai's Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) have confirmed that plans to expand the city's Metro network could be brought forward if the emirate's bid for the World Expo in 2020 is successful.The organisation is hoping to complete an AED 5 billion (£866 million) upgrade of the Red Line, but the project could be fast-tracked if the high-profile international event is staged in Dubai.Organisers of the city's bid have outlined potential sites to host the conference and it is likely to end up next to Dubai World Central Airport. If the showpiece is awarded to the sheikhdom, the RTA will be under pressure to provide Metro links between the airport and the rest of the region.Mattar Mohammad Al Tayer, chairman of the board and executive director of the RTA, said plans to expand the Red Line out towards the airport have been in place for some time, Gulf News reports.”As soon as the bid results are out and if we win – which we will Inshallah (God willing), we start the planning and development of the project,” he was quoted as saying.Dubai World Central has only been used to transport cargo to date, but the aviation facility is scheduled to launch passenger flights in October 2013.Conveniently, organisers of the World Expo 2020 are expected to announce the host city just one month later.Mr Al Tayer said the new-look Metro servive will also cover Jebel Ali, which is close to the Expo site, thus enabling even more people to travel to the venue.”We have already floated the tenders for the next stage of Etihad Rail's development. The entire project is expected to be completed by 2017, and that will bring additional traffic to the area,” he added.Earlier this week, the Bureau International des Expositions scrutinised each Expo 2020 bidder and confirmed that Dubai has moved on to the next stage of the process. Thailand's Ayutthaya has withdrawn from the competition, leaving just four contenders, including Izmir in Turkey, Sao Paulo in Brazil, Yekaterinburg in Russia and Dubai. Continue reading

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Is Dubai set to be the next big technology hub?

Most people immediately think of the US or Japan when the subject of technology is raised, but Dubai is also building itself a strong reputation in this area.Indeed, Dubai Internet City has already attracted some of the leading companies on the planet – not least Google – and this is a trend that is likely to develop over time.Speaking to Al Arabiya, Omar Christidis, chief executive of ArabNet – a forum for technology start-ups – said the emirate is a “growing hub for digital business”.His comments were made during the ArabNet Digital Summit, which poignantly has been switched from its usual location of Beirut to Dubai, further emphasising just how powerful the city has become in the technology sector.Mr Christidis said the interest in digital corporations has “exploded” since 2010 and this is reflected in the growing number of people attending the summit every year.”We're seeing global companies establish their Middle East – and often their Middle East and Africa – headquarters in Dubai, sometimes even managing Turkey and India based out of Dubai,” he was quoted as saying.”This year we decided to shift the Digital Summit, our biggest international event, from Beirut to Dubai, as Dubai is the hub for digital business in the Arab world.”Earlier this month, a study conducted by the Economic Intelligence Unit on behalf of Citi bank concluded that Dubai is an excellent place to do business, describing the city as an “all-round performer”.Aside from the plethora of technology organisations that have moved to the sheikhdom, plenty of enterprises in other fields have been keen to set up a new base in this part of the Gulf. This is partly attributed to the favourable tax laws in the UAE.The Hot Spots 2025: Benchmarking the Future Competitiveness of Cities report showed Dubai is the leading business destination in the Middle East and is set to be the 23rd strongest market in the world over the coming years. Continue reading

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