Covid Threatens Dubai’s Economy
Dubai built a city of skyscrapers and artificial archipelagos on the promise of globalization, creating itself as a vital hub for the free movement of trade, people and money worldwide all things that have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Now, with events cancelled, flights grounded an
Published -
May 18, 2020 4:49 AM
Dubai built a city of skyscrapers and artificial archipelagos on the promise of globalization, creating itself as a vital hub for the free movement of trade, people and money worldwide all things that have been disrupted by the coronavirus pandemic. Now, with events cancelled, flights grounded and investment halted, this sheikhdom in the United Arab Emirates is threatened both by the virus and a growing economic crisis. Under pressure even before the outbreak, Dubai and its vast web of state-linked industries face billions of dollars in looming debt repayments. And though it was bailed out a decade earlier, Dubai may not be able to count on another cash infusion, given the crash in global oil prices. The value of Dubai’s real-estate market had already dropped 30% since 2014, when it announced it would host the Expo 2020 world’s fair. That event, on which Dubai already has spent billions, has been postponed to 2021.
Tags : INTERNATIONAL