Is Dubai About To Compete With Post-Brexit London As A Financial Capital?
Both Forbes and the Khaleej times have speculated over the weekend how Dubai is set to benefit from the Brexit fall out, particularly in terms of the financial sector. With the pound continuing to fall against the dollar and clients in London reportedly having lost $47billion since the vote, Dubai will be one of the alternative investment options on the radar of London based companies.
DIFC is aiming to attract 1,000 firms to Dubai with a workforce of 50,0000
Once of the things Dubai has going for it is it’s Airport, which has surpassed Heathrow as the busiest in the world.
“Dubai’s geopolitical advantage has propelled it as an effective bridge between the East & the West. I expect that as corporates and institutions in London deliberate their options, Dubai will feature as a destination of choice.”
Sanjay Uppal, chief executive officer, StraitsBridge Advisors Pte Ltd
The full impact on international business will take time
A more conservative estimation is that this is still a UK / EU issue for now, the results of the UK’s exit and the trade negotiations will shed more light as to what will happen next. However, if there was ever an opportunity for the UAE and GCC to become more prominent a player in international financial markets, this is it.
“The consequences for the UAE and the GCC more generally will depend on whether they actively pursue a strategy of rapidly developing and opening their financial markets (equity, government and corporate debt & Sukuk, money markets) to finance growth, development and reconstruction in the Middle East and in Africa. There is a moment of opportunity with Brexit and Saudi’s National Transformation Plan with its focus on the private sector and privatization.”
Nasser Saidi, former chief economist of DIFC
