United Arab Emirates, in its own way, has presented the world a great deal of investment opportunities. In spite of a prolonged world wide recession, UAE has yet again started to emerge as an investment hub for many of the keen investors.
According to a report cited in Arabian Business Website, Dubai remains the most attractive city in the Middle East for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), despite the recent speculation over the emirate’s ability to pay its debts. Over air traffic situation in Dubai specifically and UAE in general has improved considerably from last year i.e. around 8.7% more than it was in August 2009, which can be read as people have started to regain their confidence in UAE market, for shopping maybe, but definitely a portion of that will add to investments.
Now let’s have a look at different investment options in Dubai.
National Bonds is a wonderful option for investors who have more inclination towards saving their money than investing. They had a profit percentage of 3.5% in 2009, and average stays almost the same. With your money completely safe, you can earn a reasonable percentage of profit along with monthly prizes which have attracted many residents.
For investors who are interested in Shariah Compliant investment options find this another reason to invest in national bonds and for more information please click here how to do business in dubai
Gold is a universal investment option. Although many would argue Gold has reached its high and now its time for the shining metal to jump down, I would predict a 5% further increase in Gold price before we can actually say that Gold has reached its maximum price. From an article in Financial Times I got to know that Central Banks are planning to buy 15 tonnes of the barbarous relic in 2010, flipping them from net sellers to net buyers for the first time in 20 years, a large Hedge Trader in Gold Anglo Gold Ashanti is spending $ 1.375 Billion to take its gold hedges off. And Dollars has had so many downward hits this last year and before that it is going to take so much time to recover, if ever, to come back to that standard strong Dollar it was once. Further people are getting more wary of the fact that they want to store something tangible, something that has a pure ‘value’ in itself, and is something that can be trusted upon no matter how low the world economies grow.
Even if the prices go down, but you have a long investment horizon, gold remains the best option -Secure and Tangible in terms of Value.
Starting a Restaurant is one of the options I’ve personally considered and worked on and have a detailed Business Plan available-A Pakistani Restaurant in Dubai/Sharjah. Reasons behind this are many. Firstly, I already mentioned that inflow of people in UAE has increased considerably and no matter whatever purpose these people are coming for, their presence increases the Foot-Fall in shopping areas, streets and entertainment areas of the city. And as we all know restaurant business is directly related to the foot-fall and people passing or living in a certain area, is a best option to start with.
Further, restaurant business is something that has done very well in Dubai for a long time. I have observed Pakistani and Indian restaurants with a small Set-Up but when I, roughly, tried to figure out using my past experience of working in a French Restaurants chain as a chief accountant and also detailed analysis of the restaurant industry, their Net Profits were never less that 50% per annum for almost 80% of those restaurants.
Buying Property in Dubai might seem a harsh suggestion based on what has happened with the real state sector in UAE in recent past. But my reason for suggesting this for any resident who is intending to live for a much longer term in Dubai, buying a property is a much better option that paying a fortune in rents. In addition, it is presently up to 40% cheaper to buy than to rent, so buying a big villa costs the same as renting a small one. The 10% down payment on a new villa is the same as the upfront annual rent payment. Rental yields of up to 10% are achievable in Dubai compared to under 5% in Central London.
Even if you plan to live in your home country, you can take advantage of the rents from your property in Dubai, which are Tax Free- very rare anywhere else in the world.
These were few of the options I recommend. Further, there are varied options. Like buying shares of NBAD, which has done so well in the recent past and seems to be doing so in the future. Venture Capital Investing where so many people have ideas but lack the required capital. Dubai is a much safer place for Venture Capital Investing because of its strong and clear laws about Business Relationships.
Crux is, Dubai has become a Business Hub, and yes it was much affected with the recession like all other metropolitan cities of the world, and have started to regain its confidence in the world wide investors which is evident from the fact that so many companies have recently registered in Dubai specifically and UAE in general.
Dubai, UAE is 21st century city poised to lead the way into the future. With a booming economy where construction, finance, information technology, tourism and property markets are robust (David Beckham has a home in the Palms); Dubai has attracted more than 1425 multinational companies to establish their regional offices there. It therefore comes as no surprise that Dubai continues to attract expatriate talents from around the world. This has made getting hired in Dubai very competitive.
Gain an insight into working and living in Dubai as an expatriate. Read up and if possible, speak with expatriates who are already living in Dubai or join various forums on expatriates living in Dubai in the web. It is estimated that around 78% of the population living in Dubai are expatriates.
Visa Requirements Understand the visa requirements relevant between your country and the UAE. You may be able to check with the UAE embassy in your country or various international job search companies who represent companies based in Dubai.
Know the industry you are interested in. Prepare yourself with information on the job positions available in the industry you are aiming for. For expatriate positions, it is best to apply for industries which you already have experience in or if you have just graduated go for industries relevant to your degree. Tip: If you are currently working for a multinational company, you may want to inquire if there is an office in Dubai and check if there are any vacancies in the Dubai office.
Invest time in preparing a strong resume. Understand that there are hundreds of resumes sent to the employer for any position. Of these, a prospective employer will narrow it down to 20 to 30 resumes based on what catches their attention and of these; only around 10 will be called for interviews. It is strongly recommended to have a strong resume ready so that when you are applying for a specific job opportunity, amend and tailor your resume to that position with focus on the skills and experience you will bring to the company should you be employed.
Get to know the business culture in Dubai. The business culture might vary significantly from the business culture in your own country although strong business principles and ethics are always valued. This is very important when it comes to selling yourself during the interview process.
