Football Isn't The Only Party

Qatar’s hosting the World Cup and in Middle East, economic good times are rolling, at least for now

- Ruchir Sharma

If you want to escape from the global gloom, just take a flight from its epicentre, London, to any leading capital of the Gulf, the only region in the world where economic growth forecasts are rising. As host of the Fifa World Cup, Doha has been bubbling over with anticipation and so have its neighbours, who are welcoming the overflow from Qatar hotels. Dubai is enjoying yet another real estate boom. Regional rivals like Riyadh are racing to be the next Dubai, funnelling oil profits into property mega projects.

Many Gulf leaders recognise that a boom built on high oil and property prices is unlikely to endure, but that age-old problem can wait. The party is happening now.

● With 28 buildings over 300 metres tall, most of them built in the last 10 years, Dubai is easily the most vertical city in the world, making even Manhattan and Shenzhen look flat by comparison.

● Now in its third and most effervescent real estate boom of the last 10 years, Dubai is setting records for number and value of buildings sold, with sale prices rising at an annual pace of more than 20%, faster at the highest end.

● Dinner conversations at Dubai’s many globally branded restaurants, from Armani to Zuma, revolve around which billionaire paid how much for the latest beachfront luxury villa.

● Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which includes Dubai and Abu Dhabi, are close to 75% of the Gulf economy and home to its financial centres, which are islands of excitement too.