IN the harsh Arabian sun at the heart of Abu Dhabi, there’s not a moment of rest for the thousands of workers essentially pump-priming the capital’s economy and keeping the United Arab Emirates alive.
Just one hour down a bustling freeway, Dubai remains stuck in a fiscal quagmire, but, in the geographically larger but lesser known Abu Dhabi, the economy appears to be powering..
During the bull-market days of 2008, Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital, avoided the aggressive growth that has landed Dubai in trouble and at the mercy of its global creditors.
The troubles in Dubai emerged late last year, when Dubai World, the government-backed investment conglomerate, requested a standstill on $US60 billion ($65bn) worth of debt.
The prospect of a sovereign debt crisis in Dubai still rattles world financial markets, and this week Dubai World met with creditors in London to restructure $US22bn worth of its short-term debt. The Dubai authorities want the problem dealt with by the end of the month — but were initially forced to turn to Abu Dhabi, which bailed it out by buying $US10bn worth of government bonds.[Read More]
