Dubai, Singapore and Malaysia optimistic about global financial crisis

Before the Christmas break I had the pleasure of taking a whistle stop tour of Dubai, Singapore and Malaysia. It gave me the opportunity to see firsthand just how ‘global’ the current financial crisis is, reaching out from the west, and affecting the rest of the world.

In Dubai the construction industry, long a pillar of the countries growth, has ground to a virtual halt and the price of Real Estate has dropped dramatically, but there is none of the panic or pessimism that’s visible in the west.

Following meetings with several of the financial groups in Dubai the impression I received was one of optimism in the long term. There was the belief that this current crisis was inevitable, that the last few years growth had been unrealistic and un-sustainable, and that the current recession is a correction.

There is even less pessimism in Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, the belief that the storm can be weathered is strongly rooted and that after a period of stock taking growth will resume, albeit with more realistic returns. This feeling of optimism is something that I and the CBC will tap into as we actively participate in both Dubai and Malaysia later in the coming year.