Tag Archives: exclusive
Small Middle Eastern businesses are performing well
Family businesses based in the Middle East performed very well last year, despite the fact the global economy is still far from stable.A new study by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) showed that 83 per cent of small enterprises based in this part of the world reported a rise in sales. This was much higher than the global average, which stood at just 65 per cent.Confidence is high among start-up organisations in places like Dubai, with 23 per cent of firms planning “aggressive growth” in the next five years. Only nine per cent thought they would struggle in the near future.PwC's Family Business Survey also showed that women are having a greater influence in smaller companies across the Middle East.The main challenges facing businesses of this nature are family politics, succession planning and the recruitment of skilled staff, the report discovered.That said, Amin Nasser, partner and private clients leader at PwC Middle East, thinks the future is bright for entrepreneurs in the Gulf.”Our survey clearly shows that family businesses in the Middle East will continue growing significantly,” he remarked.”Compared with the rest of the world, family businesses in the Middle East are less fazed by the general economic situation. This has created a strong framework for family businesses to continue targeting ambitious goals, bringing stability to a balanced economy.”The UAE has become a major international corporate hub in the past few decades and a multitude of blue chip companies have set up bases in Dubai.Earlier this year, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum – ruler of Dubai and vice president/prime minister of the UAE – said the city was looking to become the world's leading Islamic business centre.The Islamic finance sector has grown in stature over the years and is now one of the most lucrative industries on the planet. The emirate could set up a central sharia board, which will oversee all Islamic financial products used in Dubai. Continue reading
Dubai rents ‘will continue to rise’
From a property investor's point of view, it is always encouraging to see rental rates increasing in Dubai, as this suggests that demand for accommodation is strong.Landlords in many parts of the city were forced to lower their asking prices when the global economy took a turn for the worse, but it seems that things are now firmly back on track.Farouk Soussa, the chief economist in the Middle East for Citigroup, told the National that increasing rents are something of a trend in Dubai.”Going forward we expect further increases in rent in Dubai as we forecast house prices to rise by 35 per cent this year and rents to be not far off it,” he was quoted as saying.According to the Dubai Statistics Centre, housing costs in April 2013 rose at their fastest pace for more than three years.Dubai certainly appears to be a more profitable market than Abu Dhabi, as figures suggested that rents in the latter fell last month.”The rate of population growth in Abu Dhabi is still short of Dubai and the investment interest in Dubai's property market is higher than Abu Dhabi,” Mr Soussa added.Unsurprisingly, certain parts of Dubai attract more interest from lodgers than others and it seems that more exclusive areas like Dubai Marina are particularly popular.Earlier this year, the Real Estate Regulatory Agency revealed that The Greens is another region that is highly desirable.The cost of renting a studio apartment in this part of town went up by an incredible 22 per cent between the end of 2012 and March 2013, Emirates 24/7 reports.In addition to this, owners of one-bedroom apartments hiked their rents by 15 per cent over the same period, while two-bedroom properties were 28 per cent more expensive.Although there has been a sharp increase in the number of new buildings being erected across the city, experts predict that rising population figures will ensure that rents continue to go upwards in the near future.The First Group can help you find some of the best properties in Dubai Continue reading
Dubai continues to target Chinese tourists
Tourism chiefs in Dubai will reach out to Chinese holidaymakers in a bid to swell the city's visitor numbers in the coming years.Although the emirate is already one of the most popular destinations in the Middle East, Dubai Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DTCM) is keen to persuade even more people to take a vacation in the emirate.Director general of the state-run body Helal Saeed Almarri said China is “a market of the future” for Dubai, Xinhua reports.Hoteliers throughout the region are already tailoring packages with Asian travellers specifically in mind and this is a trend that is likely to gather pace in the coming years.Last year, the city attracted 300,000 Chinese visitors, which was a 26 per cent increase on 2011, according to figures provided by the DTCM.As you would perhaps expect, Dubai is inundated with tourists during the Chinese New Year celebrations and statistics show that 60 per cent of guests at the seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel at this time of year are Chinese.A spokesperson for the five-star Armani Hotel told the news provider that people from the Asian country are particularly keen to stay in resorts that have Chinese restaurants and Mandarin-speaking staff, so this is something that other hotel owners will have to consider if they are to successfully tap into this market.While China is clearly a crucial market for the DTCM, Mr Almarri suggested that people are flooding in from other parts of the world too.”Visitors from India and Africa are also poised to generate the necessary momentum to reach the ambitious goal expressed by Dubai ruler His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum,” he was quoted as saying.Overall, Dubai is aiming to double the number of holidaymakers spending time in the city to 20 million by 2020 and with a plethora of exciting new developments nearing completion, the emirate is certainly going the right way about attracting more and more visitors. Continue reading
