A place in the sun

A report by international consultancy Booz Allen Hamilton claims that, far from the perceptions of the region that may appear in the international press, the Middle East is actually a haven of financial stability.

CEO Middle East finds that the economic future does indeed look bright.

Today, oil-producing countries, mainly those in the Gulf, use extra revenue to reduce foreign debt, boost liquidity, develop trade ties, and attract foreign investment," says Joe Saddi, a Senior Vice President with Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH).

The price of oil on the international stage, hovering as it does around the US$100 a barrel mark, has meant that regional governments have had unprecedented levels of capital to plough into development and infrastructure.

This, in turn, has attracted ever-increasing amounts of expatriates looking to make the region their home, rather than merely passing through as economic migrants.

This is being noticed across the board, from real estate sales to the retail sector. "We are targeting a greater number of residents than ever before," Ramesh Prabhakar, Managing Partner of the Rivoli Group told CEO in a recent interview.

In, say, 1992 to 1995, our domestic customer base was only 35% of our business, whereas now it's far higher. People are staying and making a life for themselves here.

In a bid to attract foreign investment, a number of Middle Eastern countries have begun to allow non-nationals to own property, thus increasing the number of long-term residents who create wealth and add diversity to the population.

Dubai World Central's CEO, Real Estate, Khalid bin Harib, agrees that the range of people coming to live in the region has broadened: "With the rising demand for residences we can expect the construction boom to be ongoing for the foreseeable future.

As well as the luxury developments there are complexes being planned by some of the developers for managers and their employees too.

ETA Star Properties Executive Director, Abid Junaid concurs that developers are now offering projects that match the changing needs of the GCC's residents: "Although there are a good number of developers, including ourselves, who have projects in the luxury market sector there is only so much you can do there.

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