Changes

It's coming up to Christmas and so far it looks like it's going to be little different from last year.  Despite massive optimism and boatloads of hard work none of our deals has yet turned into hard cash.

Ras al Khaimah came and went in a flurry of recriminations between the partners and left a bunch of unhappy people in the lurch.  Me included but what about the customers and internal clients we had built good relationships with?  It hurts to let them go.

The Al Khabeer training company also came and went.  Should have seen that earlier but I wasn't the only one who fell for it.  At least two people lost significant amounts of money in the process.  I had none to lose fortunately and was sufficiently suspicious from early on not to get too close.  Nonetheless there's the risk of losing a good new friendship with a good guy from KSA.  Hopefully he'll be back in the New Year and we can move on from that disaster.

And now we're looking to new possibilities - starting again but with lessons learned and new hopes all round.  A couple of commodity deals involving oil and diamonds are reaching critical stages; new businesses in insurance, security and economic development as well as political consulting look like they might make a splash. 

The new year comes with the same hope last year did but a lot more confidence that something will drop out the other side.

The critical point being that everyone is in the same boat here.  My story is repeated more or less similarly by all the expats - employed or  entrepreneurs alike.  Little new business was completed last year but the signs are good for '11.

There are downside indicators too for Dubai.  There's still far too many new properties being constructed, commercial and residential, given the numbers of empty completed offerings available.  People are still trying to hang on to the past and rents are still falling and landlords reluctant to let at current rates and instead they hang on, hoping for a recovery.  And some are still trying to persist with the old practice of a year's rent in advance.  Yet they wonder why their properties remain empty.  Jumeirah Beach Residence and Jumeirah Lakes Towers look like ghost towns at night - some long completed buildings showing only a handful of lights at night.

And rumours abound of another semi-state run enterprise going the same way as Nakheel and of huge personal defaults by senior members of the ruling family.  And the constant local cultural inability to be transparent about it.

And there's been a flurry of legislation making it tougher for expats, not least the reduction in the length of work permits/visas to  2 years.  Not to mention no sign of the long discussed end of indentured servitude in the form of 'Sponsorship" and stealth tax/state appropriation in the need for 51% local ownership of companies outside FreeZones.

I must say a relocation is looking more attractive every day.  Let's see if we can get some stability this year.  Personally and nationally.  Or maybe go to Bahrain or Sri Lanka on spec.