Innovative property investments
Investment property in Dubai
Buying Guide
Economic Overview
Diverse income streams
Dubai's rise to global prominence was kick-started by the discovery of oil in the UAE, but the emirate itself is not a large-scale producer and oil is only responsible for between 6% and 10% of Dubai's GDP - which reached 37 billion USD in 2005 - each year.
The bulk of the remainder is divided between manufacturing, services (including financial services) and tourism, with construction also playing an increasingly important role.
Strong socio-economic indicators
Along with the rest of the UAE, basic socio-economic factors are very positive - literacy among Emiratis and Western ex-pats is near 100%, GDP per capita is in excess of 45,000 USD and unemployment is all but nonexistent.
The expat population is drawn in large part by Dubai's tax regime - income taxes are effectively zero.
Active manufacturer
Dubai's manufacturing sector has been very strong for some time, with large plants producing chemicals, beverages, rubber products and a variety of other goods, and supplying much of the Middle East.
Increasingly productive are the emirate's pharmaceutical factories, while paper production is also an important revenue source.
City hubs get multinational endorsement
The services and IT sectors have benefited hugely from Sheikh Mohammed's expansion programme.
The creation of various specialist 'cities' - Media City, Internet City etc - around Dubai has seen an influx of multinational corporations including some of the biggest names in world business.
If Dubai is intended to be a regional financial and technological hub, the participation of firms such as Microsoft, IBM, Sony and many others is crucial and so far this support has come by the bucket-load.
Sheikh Mohammed has welcomed big-name arrivals with open arms; rightly so, as they not only bring in substantial investment directly but also create the jobs which are required if Dubai's incredible growth rate is to be sustainable.
The scale of some of the new construction projects - in particular Business Bay, which will be the site of an astonishing 500 skyscrapers when complete - makes them entirely dependent upon take-up by foreign businesses; there simply aren't (yet) enough homegrown firms of that size to justify such jaw-dropping architectural ambition.
Positive consequences
This partly explains why the success of the specialist city zones and the consequent endorsement of the Dubai vision by the multinationals is, probably, the bedrock on which the Dubai phenomenon is founded.
While Dubai is technically a tax-free zone (only banks and oil companies pay tax in the emirate) the benefits of the presence of so many big-name firms go far beyond the fiscal.
The firms bring employment and prestige to the emirate, and in return they take a vested interest in the success of the Dubai vision.
Key facts
- In 2005 Dubai's GDP reached 37 billion USD
- Dubai's main GDP contributors are manufacturing, services (including financial services) and tourism, with construction playing an increasingly important role
- Oil only contributes 6-10% of the emirate state's GDP
- GDP per capita is in excess of 45,000 USD and unemployment is practically nought
- Expats are drawn by Dubai's tax regime - income taxes are effectively zero; only banks and oil companies are taxed
- Specialist media and internet 'cities' around Dubai have attracted in the leading worldwide multinationals and, with them, investment and employment
Downloadable Reports and Documents
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