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Dubai will Regain its
Momentum: CEOs

That, at least, is the message business leaders from some 16 countries heard on Tuesday from counterparts based in Dubai and other commercial centers in the Gulf region. In spite of the global economic tailspin, more than 100 senior executives who believe Dubai has robust long-term potential gathered here for a networking forum to see for themselves how they might profit from for the emirate’s eventual recovery.

“Dubai is a good barometer for the Middle East,” said Oliver Rothschild, a member of Europe’s storied Rothschild banking dynasty. His initial impression, after arriving on Monday for the two-day CONNECT-World CEO Forum: “It’s not all doom and gloom.”

In fact, Rothschild, a Non-Executive Director of British software developer Tripleplay Services, Ltd., says the recession seems to have done little to weaken demand in the UAE for new and improved information technology. “Funny enough, with IT, we’ve found it has been quite the reverse,” he said.

While Rothschild believes that the UAE probably won’t recover from the recession any faster than other parts of the world, he said that the nation’s oil wealth gives it a big advantage. “It has a resource that the rest of the world needs.”

Trevor Stokes, who leads efforts to attract new business for the Bahrain Economic Development Board, agreed that the economic fortunes of the Gulf and the rest of Middle East are still linked closely to the price of crude oil. But he added that this is no bad thing.

“One thing’s for certain,” Stokes said. “There’s only one way for the price of oil to go, and that’s up.”

The Middle East is therefore well placed to recover, in contrast to other, more developed markets, he said. “The balloon may have deflated, but it definitely has not burst,” Stokes said, adding that he expected the region to achieve an economic growth rate this year of between three to four per cent.

About 340 senior executives have signed up for the CEO forum, which is being held at the Jumeirah Beach Hotel. The turnout is down 20 per cent from last year’s forum, due largely to the recession and a drop in the number of participants from China, said James Magee, the event’s founder and organizer.

Some executives suggested that Dubai has been punished unfairly by negative media reports that have focused on the severe downturn in its property and tourism industries. Omar Hijazi, Chief Executive Officer of Tejari, a company specialising in e-commerce, dismissed international media reports predicting the “demise of Dubai” and said that the healthcare industry was set to become an important source of business in the emirate.

“Healthcare is the pan-objective for Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Dubai has over-achieved Los Angeles in the healthcare industry,” Hijazi said, adding that Dubai offers a huge market for plastic surgery. Dubai also is a major hub for auto parts distribution, with nearly 50 per cent of auto parts arriving in Dubai being distributed to other countries in the region.

“Any crisis, be it financial or otherwise, also contains an opportunity,” said Dr. Ashfaq Ishaq, a Senior Advisor to the Business Council for International Understanding, a private, non-profit business association in the US. In many ways, the current downturn is “a very good time” for companies in the US and Middle East to explore avenues for trade and investment, Ishaq said. He explained that people are taking more time “to think and reflect” instead of making rash decisions that they may regret later.

Still, the recession is making it harder for Ishaq’s group to persuade US firms to look abroad for business. “It has been very tough. Travel budgets are down. People are pursuing concrete opportunities rather than [thinking], ‘OK, let’s explore business opportunities.’”

One encouraging development is that some small and medium-sized firms in the US appear to be showing interest for the first time in Dubai and the rest of the Middle East.

Morris Reid, Managing Director of the BGR Group, a Washington-based lobbying firm, argued that US President Barack Obama has closer ties to small and mid-sized businesses than to Fortune 500 heavyweights and that this creates unprecedented opportunities for smaller businesses in both the Middle East and the US.

One such firm is Adirondack Direct, a furniture distributor headquartered in New York. Gloria Cressler, the firm’s international sales manager, came to the forum seeking deals to supply furniture to local schools and hospitals.

“You know, everybody is coming to Dubai,” Cressler said. “That’s why I want to do some business here.”

· business@khaleejtimes.com