Marios Maratheftis

Was anybody counting on a single currency for the Gulf?

From Arabian Business

by Soren Billing and Tom Arnold, Wednesday, 20 May 2009

The GCC monetary union is "dead" as a result of a decision by the UAE to pull out of the plan, leading UAE economists pronounced on Wednesday
The UAE's move, which came just three weeks after a decision to base the bloc's central bank in Riyadh, was the result of a clash of egos, according to a Saudi expert, who urged Gulf politicians not to let egos get in the way of rational decision.
Dubai-based economist, Eckart Woertz, said that he was surprised by the decision, adding that the monetary union was “dead” without the UAE’s involvement.

Builders in Qatar are taking advantage of the slowdown in Dubai to scoop up skilled staff that they have previously struggled to attract to the country.

Building, consultancy and engineering firms in Qatar have long struggled to attract key skills because of competition from Dubai, but now hope to take advantage of the redundancies that are sweeping across the emirate.

“There were issues about bringing people here in the past, such as housing and schools, that prevented us from growing,” said Robert Hope, a regional director at WS Atkins, an engineer and design consultancy.

“But I think there’s an opportunity for us now to get quality people in positions and move projects forward.”

Although not unaffected by the global financial crisis, Qatar’s economy is still expected to outperform regional economies this year and expand by 10 per cent, fuelled mainly by increased LNG (liquefied natural gas) exports.

Local banks are being more selective in the projects they finance, but the country is well-placed to fund crucial developments, especially those aimed at affordable housing.

Qatar’s current account surplus was worth about 52 per cent of GDP last year, according to Marios Maratheftis, CK regional head of research at Standard Chartered Bank.

by Angela Giuffrida