In Dubai, you can't kiss on the street, and you can go to jail for having medicines that you take for a headache or cough in Europe. But over the years, Dubai has become an oasis of wealth that attracts millions of tourists and hundreds of thousands of newcomers hoping to make a fortune there You read this article within the free limit despite the global crisis, Dubai is flourishing. In the city, which is the main metropolis of one of the seven emirates belonging to the United Arab Emirates, the density of luxury cars is among the highest in the world. "I just got stuck behind three ferraris that are trying to cross the release threshold" - this is a Twitter post of one of the thousands of expats, i.e. foreigners living in Dubai. They are attracted by money, eternal summer and luxuries.
Soon, Dubai will be at Poles' fingertips. At the beginning of February, Emirates will launch a direct daily flight connection between Dubai and Warsaw.
Dubai wants to be the best
Nothing is impossible for Dubaiians. In a city where in summer the average daily temperatures oscillate around 35 degrees Celsius, you can ... ski. Of course, under a roof in a specially built complex, in which the longest route is 400 meters.
The splendor may be evidenced by the fact that in 2008 one of the rich Dubaiians auctioned a license plate with the number "1" for a charity auction for ... 52.2 million dirhams, or about $ 14 million.
Dubai is the tallest building in the world with 828 meters of Burj Khalifa. The city also boasts the most luxurious hotel - a seven-star Burj al Arab in a characteristic sail shape, in which the night in the cheapest room costs at least one thousand dollars, and in the most expensive one even 10 thousand. dollars.
Dubai is famous for its artificial islands built up in the waters of the Persian Gulf. One of the projects called "World" is a heap of 300 islands in the shape of a world map several kilometers from the coast. About 321 million cubic meters of sand and 31 million tons of stones were used for it. Estimated cost of the project? $ 14 billion In the "World" Great Britain was bought by two British entrepreneurs for ... 50 million dollars! But so far most of the islands are undeveloped. The crisis has interfered with this.
How to create an oasis of luxury?
Even 40 years ago Dubai was a small city with only about 60,000 residents, surrounded by the desert and waters of the Persian Gulf. In 1971, the emirate broke free from British rule and, together with six other emirates, formed the United Arab Emirates. Dubai owes its wealth to oil, which was discovered in the 1960s. But several decades ago, the sheikhs ruling Dubai decided that it must become independent of oil revenues, because its resources would eventually run out.
Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed al-Maktoum, who ruled Dubai from 1958 to 1990, was to say: "My grandfather rode a camel, my father rode a camel, I ride a Mercedes, my son rides a land rover, his son will also ride a land a rover but his son a camel ".
Therefore, Dubai sheikhs built infrastructure for oil revenues, including a port that allows for gigantic container reloading, an airport that has grown into one of the main hubs in the region, serving over 50 million passengers a year. They focused on luxury tourism, commerce, development of the real estate and financial sector. The current ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Muhammad ibn Rashid al-Maktoum, himself initiated the construction of Dubai's greatest architectural wonders.
With only about 2 million inhabitants, the emirate (of which over 1.5 million are men!) Has a GDP of 82 billion dollars. Per capita this gives one of the highest levels in the world.
Dubai is constantly investing in its brand and reputation. He doesn't spare money on bringing stars. Calendar for November and December: Jennifer Lopez, Gotye, Macy Gray. Every now and then important exhibitions and fairs as well as sporting events are held there, often quite unusual as the World Parachuting Championships or motorboat races. In February this year, Agnieszka Radwanska was enrolled in Dubai history cards, who won the tennis tournament - The Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships - and earned 446,000. dollars.
Dubai is booming thanks to foreigners
The rapid development of the city meant that foreigners began to push their doors and windows to Dubai. It is estimated that there are up to 100,000 Britons. Europeans seeking money and luxury are not even discouraged by the strict rules in force in the United Arab Emirates (though not as strict as in Saudi Arabia). Women should not reveal too much of the body, kissing or squeezing in public is forbidden. You can get the death penalty for having drugs. Even certain substances contained in medicines (e.g. codeine) are prohibited. You may not drink alcohol in public places and unmarried couples may not have sex. There are known cases when foreigners without a marriage certificate were sent to a prisoner renting a shared room in a hotel.
But Dubai attracts like a magnet. Wages for qualified employees are high there. The survey of the recruitment company Hays shows that an ordinary analyst at an investment bank will earn around 6-7 thousand per month. dollars, and an engineer around 5-8 thousand dollars. monthly. Doctors can earn up to 2-3 times more. Importantly, salaries throughout the United Arab Emirates are not subject to income tax.
The indigenous people of Dubai would not be able to ensure the power of the city alone. That is why the city based its development, e.g. on the real estate sector, on cheap labor from Asia. In 2005, as much as half of Dubai's population were ... Hindus, and Pakistanis 16% Native citizens of the United Arab Emirates were little more - 17 percent.
Most immigrants from Asia came to Dubai to make a living working on, for example, construction sites. They send millions every year to support families in India, Pakistan and the Philippines. But cheap labor is the shameful side of Dubai. Employed workers come to Dubai and the entire United Arab Emirates in the hope of a good earnings. They often get into debt to pay for the trip. But the reality on site is not so rosy. Construction wages often do not exceed $ 200-300. monthly. Employees cannot strike under penalty. And they work in extremely difficult, hot conditions.
The Human Rights Watch organization, which cares for respect for human rights in the world, in a report from 2012 describes the case of Athiraman Kannan, a foreman from India who in May 2011jumped from the 147th floor of the Burj Khalifa building. Local media reported that his employer had refused him the opportunity to return home after his brother's death. This was the 26th known case of a suicide worker from India in the United Arab Emirates in 2011 (and Kannan killed himself in May). According to the Consulate of India in Dubai in 2010, 110 Indians committed suicide in this city.
Shaking off the crisis
Dubai was seen by many as a milk cow that always makes money. Real estate bought a few years ago, e.g. on one of the artificial islands, brought high income. Not surprisingly, according to British newspapers, real estate was to be bought there, among others David and Victoria Beckham or Brad Pitt. It's just that the global crisis of 2008-09 has left its mark on fabulously rich Dubai. Real estate prices, which were pumped by the rich before the crisis, fell by around 30-40% in 2009.
At the end of 2009, world finance sharks were shocked. In November, the state investment fund Dubai World, which through its subsidiaries corresponded, among others for financing the construction of artificial islands, he asked for a delay of six months in repayment of debt worth USD 26 billion. This caused a small earthquake in the financial markets. Indexes on the largest global trading floors fell by several percent. At that time, Dubai World debts reached $ 59 billion. In December, the Dubai fund received $ 10 billion. support from the government in Abu Dhabi. In May 2010 , an agreement was reached with most creditors on debt restructuring.
The crisis caused some of the foreigners to leave the rich city in a hurry. In Dubai, there is no concept of "consumer bankruptcy". For unpaid debts or issuing uncovered checks, you can easily be sent to prison (although these regulations are to be changed in the coming years). British newspapers described cases of luxury cars being abandoned on the streets of Dubai or Abu Dhabi. In the vicinity of airports you could see dusty ferrari, jaguars or audi.
- Many people took large loans to buy luxury cars. But when the economic slowdown came, they had trouble paying the installments and fell into debt. This applies to both foreigners and local residents - said one of the British expats to the Daily Telegraph.
About how harsh justice can be in the United Arab Emirates, convinced a British man named Safi Quarashi. He is the same man who, together with his partner, bought Great Britain on an artificial archipelago called "World". In 2010, Quarashi was sentenced to 7 years in prison for allegedly issuing uncovered checks. He served for 2.5 years, after which the cassation court rejected most of the charges against him. The case was resumed after Quarashi and 20 other businessmen serving time sentence declared a hunger strike in a Dubai prison.
Quarashi is not going to leave Dubai after being released from prison. Recently announced that he will head a new company investing in the real estate market, wants to build the island he bought.
Taj Arabia and the Eiffel TowerAlthough recently Standard Chartered economists reminded that in the years 2014-16 Dubai will have to pay back bonds worth as much as $ 48 billion, three years after the crisis it seems that Dubai has recovered from troubles and business in it again is spinning.
This year, Dubai's GDP will increase by about 4.5 percent. According to a report by Jones Lang LaSalle, in August 2012 prices of houses and flats in Dubai were by 14 per cent. higher than a year ago. Occupancy rates at hotels jumped from 70% in August 2010 up to 77% in August this year. Importantly, rich foreigners are coming back. Dubai authorities recently announced that in the first half of the year the value of real estate transactions in Dubai increased by 21 per cent. - up to around USD 17 billion Of which $ 6 billion were real estate bought by foreigners, mainly Hindus, British and Pakistani.
The crisis has also not changed Dubai's ambitions of being "the best". One of the towers of the new JW Marriott Marquis, the world's tallest hotel (355 m), was recently opened. And a few weeks ago, Link Global Ltd. announced that a billion dollar replica of the Taj Mahal temple called Taj Arabia would be built in Dubai. The difference will be that Dubai will be four times larger and will accommodate a shopping center and hotel with 300 rooms. It will be part of a larger project called "Sokole the city of miracles" containing replicas of, among others the Eiffel tower, the leaning tower of Pisa or the Egyptian pyramids
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