WHY ARE YOU NOT IN DUBAI JUST YET?

The first women society in the UAE was founded in 1972, right after the foundation of the state in December, 1971. Today, Women Federation of the UAE has 30 branches. UAE have approved the law ensuring the equality of genders in all spheres and signed the UN Convention on liquidation of all forms of discrimination in relation to women. Laws of the country provide full protection for all women – citizens and expatriates. In the UAE Cabinet of Ministers there is a female sheikh Lyubna Al Kasimi who heads the foreign trade ministry, controls the increased goods turnover and manages the negotiations with the WTO. Mariam Al Roumi is a Social Affairs Minister. In 2008, along with the two acting ministers (females) Sheikh Lyubna and Social Affairs Minister Mariam Al Roumi, two more women joined the government demonstrating the progressive way of UAE gender policy development once again.

Nine women in the Parliament represent 22.5% of the Federal National Council including 40 members. This is the highest percentage in the world. Women represent 10% of the diplomatic corps and twothird of the number of social sector employees, where they hold 30% of management positions. 83% of local girls get primary school education and according to Dubai Women College 70% of the graduates have been making their careers. Many of them hold managing positions and manage teams consisting of more than 100 people. Early last year, mega holding company Dubai World created Forse Investment Fund intended for women and collected 250 million dirham ($68 million) over the 6 months. As of the end of this year, the number of citizens of the UAE working in the banking sector of the country was 42%, and 75% of these were women. In UAE there were more than 11,000 business ladies managing the investments exceeding $4 billion and the number of such ladies has been growing continuously. Last year, the number of women who graduated from higher educational institutions exceeded the number of men and they must be hired on equal conditions as men including the private sector.

On the other hand, some may know that there is hardly a safer country then the UAE though they don’t think their capital is sufficient for purchasing a villa on the Gulf shore.

However facing the truth and trying to answer the previous question objectively, the real reason is in the lack of understanding of the fact that people in the modern world also buy real estate even without cash and that real estate has always been a safer investment than, e.g. stock market investment. Still we have to start with the information. The more information you have the more you’re sure that your decision is correct.

Suppose you already have a pretty good idea of what the prices for foreign real estate are. You have mastered all the subtleties if visa support in relation to house owners in Spain or Czech Republic. You don’t even consider the question whether or not you want to buy real estate far away from your country. However, you can not still choose between buying a villa in the exotic Dominican Republic (no matter how far it takes to travel there) and getting a small house in a friendly and familiar Bulgaria. Cold-blooded calculations based on mere reason would never provide you with spiritual balance and harmony.

The thing that matters in your investment is our desire to match your investments with your lifestyle, financial standing and adrenaline in your body. What do we mean? It is very simple. If you have succeeded in business and in your life, if you have seen many things in your life and wish for positive stability, then why get nervous just because you have decided to decorate your life with a highly efficient but also risky investment? Probably, it would be reasonable to choose highly efficient though reliable and respectable option.

Investments cannot be absolutely impartial and based only on economic conclusions. Remember the circumstances in your life when economic advisability seemed more important that unmotivated evidences of the intuition. Though, the logic did not always win in the end or did it? Thus, you have made up your mind as to the country in which you want to invest – UAE. What are the guarantees of stability and security? Let us try to find evidences in a filed that is not related at all to mathematical forecasts and diagrams.

For instance, one could see the car of the Ruler of Dubai moving in the streets without security detail cars and stopping at all street lights and sometimes His Highness Sheikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, Vice- President and Prime Minister of UAE and the Ruler of Dubai drives his car. There are no orphanages in the country and it is even ridiculous to speak about orphans deserted by their parents. There are no beggars or poverty. There is no reason to be begging in the streets of Dubai.Tranquility and stability are probably the best evidence that Dubai is a good choice. Crime detection rate here is 100 %. Nobody is afraid of leaving their cars unlocked even with their valuables and documents inside. After the sunset, the crime rate in the city remains as low as in the daytime. Proximity of the ocean and great service provide all advantages of luxury resorts. If someone told you about Dubai that it is nearly perfect and all it lacks is snow that would be untrue.

Dubai has the largest subtropical covered ski resort Ski Dubai. The dome covering it is 85 meters high (this is as high as a 25-story building). This resort can accommodate 1.5 thousand visitors at a time. The temperature inside is a little below 0 degrees. Artificial snow is made of pure water. The snow on ski slope is up to 70 cm thick!

The complex has four slopes of all levels of complexity – from black to green. The longest route is 400 meters. There are ski-jumps and 60 meters high steep. There is also a special route for toboggan, double track for bobsleigh, chair lift and rope tow. One could rent all the sports gear here. Two hours in this complex cost around $35.

Fantastic aqua parks do not even surprise anyone here anymore. By the way, figure skating fans – and their number in Europe has been increasing rapidly in Europe over the past years – could do their favorite sports right in the middle of the Arabian Desert. Despite the tropical climate, Emirates already have a few covered skating rinks, hockey clubs and figure skating clubs. There is a 45 meter-long toboggan route. National hockey team is lead by Sheikh Fallakh Al Nakhayan who is the President of the local ice hockey league and son of the President of the UAE. United Arab Emirates is the first Middle Eastern country that got membership with the International Ice Hockey Federation.

Besides the opportunities associated with organization of leisure, it is necessary to mention that it is possible to get any prestigious education in Dubai. Your child can be here and study, e.g. in Oxford.

If the humanitarian aspects of this country where theft is punished as severely as murder still have not impressed you enough, we will try to find and demonstrate mere business sector advantages.

There is practically zero corruption there and you don’t have to pay the intermediaries and bureaucrats for your business, which is the case in former Soviet republics. Also, you do not pay taxes”, - here is what practical experts say about Dubai. Today, rich businessmen from Russia and China invest into Dubai real estate and plan for moving there and moving their businesses there. By the way, the state is responsible for legality of all deals and for duration of construction projects: all land plots are insured against fore majeure.

Value of real estate is determined by economic situation in the country, to a significant degree. Therefore, certain forecasts could be made on this basis. It is possible to say that countries with stable economy are attractive only for those who want to preserve their capital – the increase of real estate prices would be insignificant, though one would not expect any significant drops in such prices. This is true when we consider typical investments. Though Arabian Gulf is very far from the typical standards, this is an unprecedented example of development of diversified economy impressing the international community with its growth rates.

As for the construction issues, in contrast to many of the foreign construction companies, local companies complete their work always on time and with good quality. All residential houses are built applying the standards used for 5-stars hotels and always have swimming pools, gyms, saunas, underground parking (cost of parking space is usually included in the cost of apartments), presentations room, 24-hours security guards, playgrounds for children, aerobics room and massage offices. Kitchens in the apartments have furniture and built-in equipment (refrigerator, washing machine, dishwasher and microwave oven). The apartments have panoramic windows, central air conditioning, on-door video-speakerphones, satellite TV (around 2,000 channels), fast internet and telephone line. The state is responsible for legal aspects of all deals, for duration of construction projects, quality of construction and finishing and required infrastructure of the districts. All land plots as well as real estate facilities are insured against all force majeure circumstances on the mandatory basis.

The only things the customer needs to decide upon are: how many bedrooms he needs, to which cardinal direction the windows should overlook, how high above the ground he wants to live and what is his favorite color of furniture. Then professionals do the rest. Orientation at cardinal points, as well as proximity to the shore is quite important factor of choice in Dubai.

As of the beginning of 2008, real estate market specialists noted certain changes in the portrait of consumers. The things that changed are not just their revenues, but also their psychology. Clients of these agencies know exactly what they want to spend their money on – either on a modest apartment in Turkey or on a luxury villa in Jumeira. Those preferring sea resorts usually choose UAE and fans of winter vacations in Europe mostly buy “winter dachas” in Austria. Prestige, comfort and reliability of investments are the main factors for Ukrainian citizens buying real estate in foreign country. If you want to purchase an apartment it is quite advisable to buy it within the shoreline zone (profit: $30 thousand per annum). Farther away from the shore it is also possible to lease real estate, though the prices would be only half or the first line’s prices. UN headquarters, though its walls are 3.5 m high and it has white oak parquet. If a person buys real estate in Dubai, he also becomes owner of the land. He and members of his family are granted resident visa for three years with further prolongation. Expected profit from lease of real estate could be 12-15% per annum.

Therefore, investing in Dubai is simple. Using your resources and relationships would guarantee minimizing your risks and maximizing the return on investment.

The most popular regions among Ukrainians buying real estate abroad are:

• Middle East 10%
• America 6%
• Asia 3%
• Europe 44%

No particular preferences -37% Price of the real estate they would pay (among the polled Ukrainians)

• 33% - real estate under $703,000
• 8% - real estate over $703,000
• 25%- real estate under $176,000

Type of real estate Ukrainians want to buy 26% - villa

• 25%- commercial real estate
• 32% - apartment
• 17% - house

The countries of the Gulf created a common market

January 2008 - six countries-members of the Cooperation of Arabic countries of Persian Bay Council (Gulf Cooperation Council, GCC) declared the creation of theirs own common market.

The combined size of economies of new common market members makes up $715 billions. Besides a free flow of capital between the countries of GCC, the agreement implies freedom of movement, residence and employment, and also equality of economic feasibilities for their citizens.

In 2003 those six countries signed the single custom agreement with European Union, theirs main economic partner, for simplification of trade rules between two organizations.

Six monarchies are included in GCC. The economies of Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, UAE, Oman and Saudi Arabia are based on extraction and sale of oil. The combined area of these countries is 2.6 million square kilometres. About 35, 1 million people live on this territory, although the citizens of GCC make up less than 60 percents of this amount. The other forty percents are foreigners, who came to earn money.

Combined supplies of oil of countries that are the members of GCC compile 484 billions of barrels that make more than half of oil backlogs of countries - members of OPEC. At the present moment trade turnover between the members of the Cooperation of Arabic countries of Persian Bay Council makes up 10 percents of world commodities turnover, however there is an opinion, that this stake can grow up to 25 percents during the next two years.

Largest world investors

According to analysts of McKinsey (MGI), a substantial change happened in distribution of world wealth. Economically developed countries do not possess undivided financial power already. Their place was taken by five investors, whose assets from 2000 to 2006 were multiplied three times and whose influence during next five years will only raise. The matter concerns the assets of oil investors (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar.) which have started to rise rapidly since 2000 – 19% per year. Placing the capital at the different financial markets, oil investors are multiplying their liquidity. The flaw of liquidity, which is provided by countries that export oil, played already an important role during last year's financial crisis, when the deficit of facilities practically exsanguinated markets. In future world financial markets can also expect great influence.

Assets of countries that export oil - $3,4- 3,8 trillions.

Backlogs of Asian Central banks – $3,1 trillions. Direct investments – $710 billions.