How Dubai commands key travel and trade routes

The Gulf emirate is ideally placed geographically and economically for 21st-century growth, with DMCC (Dubai Multi Commodities Centre) playing a central role.

Trade routes are the stuff of legend, bringing exotic goods, wealth and new ideas across the globe. Historically, the Silk Road linked the major ancient civilisations of China and the Roman Empire; the Spice Route maritime passages went from the East Indies to Europe; and frankincense and myrrh were transported on the Incense Route from the Arabian Peninsula to the Mediterranean.

Beads were traded along the Amber Route between the Baltic and Egypt; the Tea Route ran from China through Tibet to India; and the Salt Route went from Ostia, near Rome, across Italy to the Adriatic coast.

Confessions of a Real Estate Agent June 2018

The recent announcement of the ten-year visa and 100% foreign ownership of expatriate businesses is a continuation of this planning. Though many in the media reacted with surprise to the news, it had been planned for several years, anticipating a time when it was required to be implemented to meet a need within the community.

Is Dubai a model for economic diversification in the Arabian Gulf?

The Emirate struck oil in 1969 but today black gold accounts for less than 1% of its GDP.

On a sunny October morning just over three decades ago, an unknown airline from a little-known city took to the sky for its inaugural flight. With scarce resources, the airline had leased two planes from Pakistan International Airlines for those first journeys to Karachi.

Today, Emirates Airline -- based in Dubai -- is a global aviation giant. Its distinctive logo is splashed across the shirts of Premier League football teams and adorns the courts at global tennis tournaments. With a passenger capacity of more than 60.5 million at the end of 2016-17, it is the world's largest international carrier.

Bullet-Point Property: Dubai No. 81

No new launches have happened over the past week and the market has been fairly slow due to the Holy Month of Ramadan.

On the other hand, I have been kept busy researching investment options for a number of overseas clients who want entry level off-plan "Buy to Lets" expected to yield between 7% to 10% net.

Here is a very brief summary

Under AED 1m - £80k to £200k

Dubai's new standard tenancy contract

A new standard tenancy contract has been introduced in Dubai to address inconsistencies in the variety of contract formats being used for local rentals.

Launched by the Dubai Land Department (DLD) in 2017, the use of the standard tenancy contract is mandatory for all short-term tenancies in Dubai, with the exception of those in the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).

Dubai becomes first Middle Eastern city to be recognised as a creative hub

Unesco has added Dubai to a list of 24 creative cities of design, with a new design university set to complement that title.

Dubai has become the first city in the Middle East to be added to the Unesco list of creative cities of design.

The emirate joins a list of 24 global cities listed by the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organisation.

Succession Planning and Real Estate in the UAE

Any expatriates living in the UAE are unaware that in the absence of a formal Will recognised under the UAE legal system, the process of transferring ownership of their local real estate assets after death can prove time consuming, costly and fraught with legal complexity for their family members left behind.

Dubai’s property brokers will get a reality check in 2020

Land Department’s blockchain platform will directly impact on their role and commission structures.

Do away with real estate brokers altogether? Where every transaction can be done directly between a buyer and seller — or a landlord and tenant — using an online platform to be put up by Dubai Land Department? And the deals can be sealed and done with the users being anywhere in the world?

Such a scenario is not about to happen overnight — but by the first quarter of 2020, this could be the reality in Dubai’s property market.

China has high expectations for Dubai Expo 2020

Over 180 countries are set to participate in Dubai’s Expo 2020, but few of them will be as closely watched as China, which officially confirmed its participation at the event earlier this month.

The world’s second largest economy has seen trade ties with Middle Eastern nations grow rapidly in the past decade, and views the Arab world as a crucial part of its wider Belt and Road Initiative. The plan seeks to forge new trade links by land and sea along the ancient Silk Road from Asia to Europe. Dubai and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) seem ideally located to benefit.

Dubai ahead of London, Paris, New York in quality of life report

Gulf city ranked number 18 out of 50 on global index by Deutsche Bank.

Dubai has higher quality of life when compared to cities such as London, Paris and New York, according to a report by Deutsche Bank.

The city ranked number 18 in the quality of life index, which graded 50 global cities on eight measurements including quality of healthcare, cost of consumer goods and housing affordability, which was measured by the ratio of property price to income.

BusinessSteven Leckie28 May 2018cost of living, quality of life, arabian business, Dubai, Dubai trendsComment

Bullet-Point Property: Dubai No. 80

This time last week, the UAE Government announced some timely and major changes to the way ex-pats are employed in the country, their residency status and the ability for foreign-owned companies to operate without the obligatory local partner. Read more here

Visas of up to 10-years for specialists working in medicine, science, research and technical fields - plus their families.

Foreign investors opening a business or investing money in the country could get a visa of up to 10 years.

Foreign companies could own 100 percent of their business in contrast to the present system of offering a local partner a substantial stake unless based in a free zone.

Students would be able to secure five-year visas, and exceptional graduates could stay here for ten years.

These changes will be implemented by the end of the year so expect more information over the next few months. The devil is in the detail, but these are very positive moves for all sectors of the economy, and is another example of how the country is moving away from its reliance on oil and gas towards a knowledge-based economy – Read more here

We are already over a third of the way through Ramadan, and the offers keep coming

UAE 7th Most Competitive Economy in the World

The UAE has jumped three places to become the seventh most competitive economy in the world in 2018, its best ranking ever, reveals a global study released on Wednesday.

The IMD World Competitiveness Centre's 2018 data showed that the UAE secured No. 1 ranking in 20 indicators and achieved top positions in several others.

BusinessSteven Leckie24 May 2018UAE economy, cost of living, investing in Dubai, life in Dubai, living in DubaiComment

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