The scene was set; the grand and opulent Raffles hotel Dubai, on a beautiful cool evening in the heart of the city was just the right venue for the very many professionals in the city to share their thoughts of no less than four leading commentators. 

The subject? Well, the topical issue of ‘The Global Economic Crisis and It’s Impact on Middle East’ something even our school kids are talking about!

Mr Arif Naqvi (Vice Chairman of ABRAAJ Capital) kicked off the evening with a remarkable journey through the history of economic theory and how bad practice had led us to the Global Crisis of the present day.  A combination of unsustainable cheap money supply fuelling high asset prices, combined with low levels of regulation all mixed up in a cocktail that has knocked the global economies. 

Mr Naqvi presented the case for the region, and asserted that it was very well placed to come through the current downturn sooner than the Western economies, and with greater vigour.  He further elaborated that the MENA region which include North Africa, the Gulf and neighbouring countries up to the Indian sub-continent, were emerging as the future engines of growth with the continued growth in infrastructure, populations and natural resources being the very ingredients that would catapult the region into the leading economic powerhouse within a few decades.

Commenting on the UAE, wherein much of the audience held a direct interest, Mr Naqvi pointed out how the sound and visionary leadership had continued to face challenges head on and had proven themselves to be committed to making the right decisions after careful thought and consideration.  He explained that the current economic environment was witnessing assets being transferred to the ‘strong’, and the medium term outlook would be very positive indeed.  The message being - remain confident and take the necessary difficult decisions as they arise.

The panel included Mr Saad Zaman CEO DIB Capital, Mr Simon Williams, chief economist at HSBC Middle East and Andrew Clout of Sino Gulf who painted the landscape very well for the real estate sector.  All participants shared concerns over the short-term challenges facing the region and provided some key facts for the audience to carry over some of their own analysis.  Some hurdles were outlined by Mr Williams who submitted that a rebounding oil price might be expected in the medium term which would bode well for the UAE and GCC in particular.

It was only the delicate aromas of the cuisine awaiting the guests that halted the proceedings in the end. Whilst passing from one conversation to the other, one could witness many a Dubaite espousing his own economic theories under the stars that evening- budding Adam Smith’s and Keynesians in the making!   We look forward to another event of the PPW in future.

© 2009 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)