Dubai business has been waiting for a clear leadership statement and has got it today. The Internet forum is the right media for this interchange and perhaps this might be considered as a regular event. It certainly appears that the response to the global economic crisis is ongoing, and timely updates would assist business interests in making the right decisions going forward, see:
http://arabianmoney.net/2009/04/19/sheikh-mohammed-comes-out-fighting-on-the-net/

I was impressed with brilliant answers sheikh Mohammad gave, but I have question which I would like to ask
Why is there a law which protects worker who are losing their jobs against being sent to jail or investors who have lost their business of being sent to jail due to bounced cheques. We are living in fear of unknown because the business is very very slow , yet nobody gives us a chance to grow out of this crises but all we face is threats of police case. If the banks , governments are being giving more than 3 years to recover, how much more individuals?
Why isn’t there a law on bankruptcy in this country? during this crisis people are losing jobs on their way to the jail because the bank are putting police cases against them, business are closing down, the investors who had invested in this country end up in jail, jail is not a solution, if banks are being bail out , why can’t the government intervene to help people out not necessary with cash but against jail?

I have a strong admiration for Sheikh Mohammed and his achievements in Dubai. However, in his responses I would say there are economic fundamentals missing.

To say that Oil now contributes only 30% of the GDP. In Dubai construction and real estate contributed over 50% combined. Both of these industries are in crisis and Oil loiters round US$50 a barrel which will wear down surpluses.

The initiatives from RERA have been harmful to developers and Jumeirah Village a centre-piece community has ground to a halt. RERAs stated objective was to reduce the number of developers to under 100. They've bought it down to 350+ so far and this will lead to disenfranchised clients who can only claim back 70% of their investment - if they can get that.

We have serious erosion of the property market, a decline in tourism and there is a tangible visibility of a reduction in the population and layoffs (i.e the number of one way tickets issued last month from a single travel agent was over 20,000). So the pillars of this new economy are high-exposure to a recession and coupled with the changes to residency, it looks not to be the stable and strong position but one of increased risk.

The long-term benefits of policies are consistently ignored within their context. Case-in point, RERA. Looked at in the context of a speculator driven market, these policies made sense, however as we entered into the recession they become a great-deal more hazardous - it forced speculators out suddenly without a transition period. With no lending, the prices spiral down, and cancellations increase.

Property and Tourism underpinned the economy heavily. Both of these sectors are in serious danger.

The motivation for end-user purchasing is much lower with the proposed changes to residency and coupled with a statute to limit the time expatriates can spend in Dubai, the value of ownership of 'guest residents' devalues considerably.

Dubai has also consistently put an asset value on it's holdings much like an American Banking Institution; the prices of property and living in the Emirates became closer to that of the 2015 brochure value. We were paying rates for a future not yet realised.

As I said - I admire the direction and vision of Sheikh Mohammed, but there is an obvious risk in the execution of their policies within the context of the global crisis. To put it simply...

Oil (30%) + Property (25%) + (Tourism 25%) = 80%

That's a very serious exposure of the GDP...

Many questions were answered brilliantly. Sheikh mohammed has succeeded in explaining that criticism is accepted & dubai is willing to learn from the mistakes but will apply its own model, which is fair.

However, sheikh mohammed did not adress many issues, for example the illegal arrest of foreign investor where a member of his family is facing a multi billion dollar lawsuit & why the authorities are keeping quiet about the serious allegations that the foreign investor is making.

Even after all the realistic and factual evidences given some people still want to hurt Dubai !!!!
greed and ignorance is the downfall of a human.
be more sencere, i never saw in my life a government striving day and night to make its city a better place, not even in the most developed countries that are bitting big taxes from the income of their people !!!
no one wants to give credit for RTA if the traffic eases, instead they are giving credit to the credit crisis it self !!!
it is the land of oppurtunities ,because of the oppurtunity that its goverment is giving,
if you came here thinking you will sit back and spoil yourself and return back in few years with bilions, then you probably didnt meet your expectations, and now you are attacking dubai,
well, if you worked hard for what you wanted you would have got it, if you believed in what you will reach , you would have reached it .
but you borrowed the money and spoiled yourself ! so why are you attacking Dubai. learn from your own mistakes !
dont blame others for what you did. Dubai will always stay strong and will be the land of oppurtunities for those who are loyal to it.

....

How can I as a foreign investor feel safe when I read stories like the one in the link below?. Zawya was one of the first sites to cover the story transparently.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5i8zVcLnhr4gx-jpKKoqPGojeHKGgD97JDBF80

As the person who critiqued and constructively. I think you must be referring to my post? HHS Sheikh Mohammed deserves a great deal of respect for his vision and commitment to the growth of Dubai. He also deserves respect for the care of his people that he shows and the charitable generosity of the UAE towards other nations in Africa.

The purpose of my post, was not to cause insult to Dubai, but to highlight inherent risks that are obvious with the economy in the context of the Global Recession and from the expatriate based labour policies, and usage of tourism / property to drive the economy.

We as expatriates, (perhaps brokers) did not come here expecting to make billions. The real-term earning here is the same as in the UK, the cost of living and absence of social benefits, negates the advantages of tax.

There is a strong Arabic and Emiratee Culture here that I enjoy and I have found a refreshing experience compared to the media stereotype of the Arab world.

To say Dubai will always be strong, as much as well all - myself included, may hope is a statement anyone should cautiously subscribe to. In my analysis, which is easily verifiable, the cornerstones of the economy are at risk. And in the preceeding years, Dubai made a commitment to property owners and expatriates, albeit through what is commonly employed here a 'blind-eye' policy.

There are numerous risks facing any economy, and Dubai as an emerging nation has its own variances on these themes.

We all hope Dubai manages to excel in the current economic conditions, but we also hope that there is a serious examination of the implications of policy and the stability of the foundations of this new economy.