Dubai is struggling under $80 b of debt run up during efforts to accelerate the diversification of the city. So heads have to roll.
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Dubai ruler cracks the whip
23 Nov 2009, 1018 hrs
DUBAI: Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum has consolidated his hold on the debtladen emirate, downgrading powerful figures behind the citystate’s boom that turned to a bust.
Sheikh Mohammed on November 20 sacked the governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Omar Bin Sulaiman , who had led efforts to transform Dubai into a Middle East finance hub. A day earlier, he dropped Mohammad al-Gergawi , Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem and Mohammed Ali Alabbar from the board of Dubai’s main holding company, the Investment Corporation of Dubai.
The three were at the forefront of a construction drive that began in 2002 and collapsed last year after the global financial turmoil engulfed Dubai.
The announcement, which follows the replacement in May of Nasser al-Sheikh , former director of the emirate’s Department of Finance , heralds greater consolidation of so-called Dubai Inc, the web of state-owned companies that Sheikh Mohammed used to accelerate the diversification of Dubai. Dubai is struggling under $80 billion of debt amassed in the process.
The replacement of the DIFC governor is part of efforts to improve the efficiency of government institutions and companies, and “consolidate the emirate’s growing importance as an international centre for finance, business , trade, tourism and all services” , Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, DG of the ruler’s court, said in an e-mailed statement on November 20.
UAE shares tumbled to their lowest close in more than two months as volumes fell ahead of an Islamic holiday and demotion of the executives.
ON A MISSION
Pressure Mounts
Dubai is struggling under $80 b of debt run up during efforts to accelerate the diversification of the city
The Makeover
The replacement of the DIFC governor is part of a road map to improve the efficiency of government institutions.
------------------------
Dubai ruler cracks the whip
23 Nov 2009, 1018 hrs
DUBAI: Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum has consolidated his hold on the debtladen emirate, downgrading powerful figures behind the citystate’s boom that turned to a bust.
Sheikh Mohammed on November 20 sacked the governor of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Omar Bin Sulaiman , who had led efforts to transform Dubai into a Middle East finance hub. A day earlier, he dropped Mohammad al-Gergawi , Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem and Mohammed Ali Alabbar from the board of Dubai’s main holding company, the Investment Corporation of Dubai.
The three were at the forefront of a construction drive that began in 2002 and collapsed last year after the global financial turmoil engulfed Dubai.
The announcement, which follows the replacement in May of Nasser al-Sheikh , former director of the emirate’s Department of Finance , heralds greater consolidation of so-called Dubai Inc, the web of state-owned companies that Sheikh Mohammed used to accelerate the diversification of Dubai. Dubai is struggling under $80 billion of debt amassed in the process.
The replacement of the DIFC governor is part of efforts to improve the efficiency of government institutions and companies, and “consolidate the emirate’s growing importance as an international centre for finance, business , trade, tourism and all services” , Mohammed Ibrahim Al Shaibani, DG of the ruler’s court, said in an e-mailed statement on November 20.
UAE shares tumbled to their lowest close in more than two months as volumes fell ahead of an Islamic holiday and demotion of the executives.
ON A MISSION
Pressure Mounts
Dubai is struggling under $80 b of debt run up during efforts to accelerate the diversification of the city
The Makeover
The replacement of the DIFC governor is part of a road map to improve the efficiency of government institutions.
