Another Massive Project

But this time it is not Dubai. The City of Silk by Kuwait, looks pretty damn large, Dubai style. But most of the investment will have to come through internal investment and bonds. I think that the external investor has tired of such projects.

Emiratisation Overview

Succint overview by Gulf News of the current state of nationalisation and policy within the UAE. There is mention of self criticsim of the quota system, but apparent belief that functional emiratisation of positions will work, although the deferral decision highlights the problematic nature of a swift curtain. Personally, I am more in favour of the former rather than the latter. There is also a breakdown of the cost implication of employing a national versus an expatriate, which is a significant issue:

National

Pension: Employer pays 12.5 per cent of full salary (employee pays 5 per cent, government pays 2.5 per cent)

Minimum wages for UAE nationals

* Below secondary: Dh3,000
* Secondary: Dh4,000
* Post secondary: Dh5,000

Expatriate

* Work permit application - Dh210
* Work permits approval - Dh1,000-3,000
* Medical check up - Dh500
* To stamp residence visa - Dh310

Medical check up and residence visa stamps are not the responsibility of the employer if the employee is a woman on her father or husband's visa.

Total: Dh1,220 - 4,020
(Does not include optional costs of travel and food if hiring from abroad.)

Additional costs

Labour card renewal: Dh500 - 2,500 every 3 years

Gratuity based on seniority and salary

Why should National's be forced into fields that they wouldn't necessarily consider? More focus should begin at ground roots level. The set up of Awtad only deals with trying to solve the problem set up by the decision, inthe first place. If this is the way that the leaders wish to go, perhaps they should consider partial, but significant percentages of certain sectors, including police, army, nursing, education at, say, 50%. The HR/secretary policy is short termist. At some point these positions will be filled, and that doesn't cater for the years to come. Perhaps those children should be plotted on course of action to all recieve some sort of expertise from abroad, experience or education, and that way they could bring significant weight to companies here. Certainly, the Nationals I know who are successful, without the wasta, have studied to post grad level, studied overseas, or have overseas experience. That is valued, as is the value that educated expatriates bring. The question is, what are the crucial skills that the expatriates bring to the table that the Nationals don't have. Once you have figured that out, set up a long term plan to train Nationals in the same way, and the issue of emiratisation will go away, over the long term, of course. And it is about the long term, not the short term.

Jeremy Clarkson on the UAE

George speaks out

That would be George Galloway, the Respect MP for Bethnal Green in the UK.
Worth watching.

Sky News Video

Britmuz

Britmuz (pr. brit'muz)

n. sl.

1. Term used to describe 1st and 2nd generation British born Muslims.
2. Singled out by the media and police as general terrorist targets in the war on terror.


Today was a day that was could have been a whole lot worse, thank to the surveillance of police officers. Horribly, it appears that the culprits of the attempted attack were British Muslims. All of these types of incidents are drawing a bigger divide between Islamand the West, and what is being portrayed is that Muslims and West conflict, in many senses. But that is simply not true. It is just for a few rotten apples, that maketh the tree appear unfit for consumption. Before 9/11 and 7/7, British Muslims has carte blanche to travel the world without suspicion. Now, the Britmuz is profiled as the highest possible threat, on a par with the Bin Ladens of this world, and even thought of as "risky" by those in the Middle East. Watch racial profiling go crazy from today.

Mo V Roman V Octopus

It can only be Yaught Wars

Dubai Metroid

Martians beware!

From Press the Buttons

The Palm Hype

The more I read these articles, the more I want to see the Palm in its finished form, to see whether it will meet the hype.



The first paragraph sums it up for me:

Those looking for tranquil, unspoilt beaches, rustic charm and authentic maritime culture will probably choose to look elsewhere. But for the world's permatanned classes with bling to display and money to burn this extraordinary construction project in the Persian Gulf is an irresistible draw.

from the Daily Mail - Good overview wth nothing new, apart from playing with my hype expectation.

2007, oil, war and the effect on the US

4 scenarios from Business Week

1. Conflict contained
2. Iran shuts its taps
3. The Gulf goes dry
4. The U.S. gets cut off

2007 doesn't look too good for the US. The war is affecting oil prices which is affecting general economies. Let's hope that Ahmadinejad's threats are just that, threats.

What's next after property?

Just as the property market starts to slow, the ugly head of timeshare Dubai looms. It's more affordable for the overseas investor and it's a mugs game. I have memories of slimey salesmen trying to sell to my parents in the early 80s on holiday in Spain and Portugal. My dad's words: " Don't talk to them, just look down".

"World's Biggest" e-statistics Project

I am sure that the gathering of data on Dubai will be an arduous task, but to call it the world's biggest is pushing it a little. Perhaps, it's because the term e-statistics is not used so much.

The Government of Dubai is planning to launch the world's biggest e-statistics project, in an effort to centralise the flow of information in the Dubai economy, reported a local daily on Monday.

"Following its launch, the project will provide comprehensive, unified and precise data at Dubai level," said Al Muheiri, director of the Data Center in Dubai municipality. "Subscribers will have access to this system through the internet." The number of parties who have joined the Central Data System's statistics in Dubai has increased to 20, following the addition of six new parties, which are concerned with issuing data for the economic sector in Dubai.

Certainly doesn't sound that big to me. Grapeshisha gives the world's biggest eyebrow raise in astonishment. No doubt there are lies told about their tools are as well. Remind's me of the "Goodness Gracious Me" skit about the mothers discussing their sons' "dundas".

The UAE Job Market (the other side)

It's prime time for the UAE agencies wanting to get a piece of the action. If recent activity is anything to go by, the job market in the UAE is going to grow as companies search for the cream of the crop. Three prime examples:

1. Monstergulf.com from monster.com launched this week
2. Imprint says buys UAE recruitment firm Ingram for up to GBP 5m (finally!)
3. Naukrigulf.com launches Resume Database Access

All these are significant stories in their own right: Monster entering the market through its sheer power of brand recogntion; Imprint buying into Dubai, and gbp5m is not small cheese; and Naukri has stepped up its Mena game. All three of these companies can't be wrong. There is a big search for talent, and it begins right now.

A UK-Dubai relationship (not Abu Dhabi)

UK to UAE (Dubai takes 84%)
UAE to UK (Dubai sends 65%)

No doubt the increased focus on the UAE as a key market for the UK will focus on Abu Dhabi.

Easyjet V Air Arabia

Maybe in a few years. Many stumblng points, but there's a chance. Come on Stelios!

Information restriction affects perception of the World

An obvious point, but one worth emphasizing.

"I suspected the people would be as I see them on TV - aggressive, angry," Atoom Al-Khatiry said. Instead, "The people were really friendly, very helpful and 360 degrees from the concept people have. It was amazing."

Dubai Ski Dome

With all the buzz about ski dubai, I forgot about the Ski Dome which is being built in DubaiLand



In February this year, the groundwork officially started for the new Snowdome at Dubailand. It will be the first comprehensive snow resort in Dubai on a par with the leading international ski resorts — but better.

The ski resort in Dubai will boast real live penguins.

The Snowdome consists of hotels and lodging, a leisure winter wonderland with all the adventure attractions of a snow and ice leisure park a skating arena, toboggan run and much more. The 32Group hopes the project will be completed by the end of 2008. It is hoped this will attract visitors who would normally travel overseas during the summer to escape the Middle Eastern heat.

Penguins - now Dubai is getting ridiculous!

Crane Collisons

There is always the chance of air collisons, and that's why you have an air traffic control system. It works most of the time. And then on the roads, you have traffic systems with traffic lights, rules etc. Many people in the UAE ignore them. That's why there are so many accidents. And now, with so many cranes in existence in Dubai, a Cranes anti-collision system has been installed at the building site of the Dubai Mall. I never knew such things existed. I assume there is some sort of crane traffic tower, most probably located at the highest point of the Burj, at any one time. The thought of two cranes crashing feels like something out of the Terminator.

November 30th

The date is set, but the critics are already sticking their knives in. Palm Jumeirah will hand over 4,000 villas, but this is what the Associated Press is saying right now:

- The island's construction has not all been smooth, and most buyers were supposed to get keys to their island homes a year ago.

- Some of the new land sank and Nakheel needed an extra year to add more and pack it with vibrating land compactors.

- Reports from those who have wandered through the island's giant homes describe them as cheaply finished and set uncomfortably close to one another.

- Nakheel rejected an Associated Press request to visit the island.

- Overburdened roads in Dubai's Jumeirah Beach neighborhood are expected to clog further as people begin moving onto the island, accessible, for now, by a single bridge. Mainlanders have already put up with years of road works and innumerable trucks hauling boulders to the island.

- Those moving onto the Palm Jumeirah this year will have to live with construction for another three years, and then an influx of tourists.

- The World's sales trouble stems from simple economics: Nakheel is selling empty islands for tens of millions of dollars only to builders promising low-density luxury.

- Also nearing completion are 2,650 apartments in 20 high-rises that have sprung up on the island's trunk. The hulking complexes are visible from shore, where the sprawling island, with its dredges, highway overpasses and construction cranes has become a major eyesore for resort hotels on Dubai's once idyllic natural beaches.

We are reaching a crucial date. The World [sic] will either love it or hate it, and much of the fortunes of the Dubai's property market will depend on what the perception of it is. No doubt it will bring in the tourists, but will the people living there take to being in the goldfish bowl? And while most of the Palm Jumeirah residences won't really affect the the demand/supply conundrum, simply due to price, it could result in the later chain buyers losing out on a bit of cash. Let's see how this unfolds.