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Is Dubai the safe harbour investors are looking for?

FILE - A boat rides past giant skyscrapers at the Marina waterfront seen from Palm Jumeirah island in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 22 September 2018.
FILE - A boat rides past giant skyscrapers at the Marina waterfront seen from Palm Jumeirah island in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 22 September 2018. Copyright  AP Photo
Copyright AP Photo
By Toby Gregory
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Business councils from across the globe, operating under the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, say the emirate offers what nervous investors want most: predictability.

As geopolitical tensions rattle markets and investors grow pickier about where they park their money, Dubai is making the case for stability and long-term investment benefits.

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Country business councils operating under the Dubai Chamber of Commerce have added their voices to that pitch.

"Even in the current scenario, I feel a sense of overarching calm and focus when it comes to my investment decisions," said Siddharth Balachandran, chairman of the Indian Business & Professional Council (IBPC) in Dubai.

"This reflects my absolute confidence in Dubai and its long-term macroeconomic fundamentals."

Clarity as a competitive edge

The language of calm is deliberate and in volatile markets, the ability to signal predictability has become a commercial asset in itself. Business councils representing dozens of nationalities in the emirate are leaning into it.

Katy Keenan, CEO of the British Chamber of Commerce Dubai, pointed to communication as a key part of that offer.

"Stakeholder engagement and clarity in communications are key in any crisis," she said, adding that businesses need "updates with a feedback loop".

That kind of institutional responsiveness matters to multinationals weighing up jurisdictions. Regulatory efficiency and speed of execution are now as important to investors as headline growth figures, particularly for firms managing exposure across multiple markets.

A platform, but not an island

Dubai's boosters are careful not to oversell. The emirate's connectivity — the same quality that makes it attractive — also means it is exposed to whatever is happening elsewhere.

A slowdown in major economies, a disruption to trade routes, a lurch in global capital markets lands in Dubai, too.

Kanat Kutluk, chairman of the Turkish Business Council, said the emirate offers "a stable and dynamic environment where businesses from around the world can grow with confidence".

Werner Baumgartner, chairman of the Austrian Business Council, called it "a global platform for business, talent, capital, and innovation".

The emphasis on past performance is telling.

"Dubai's record speaks for itself… It is built on a base that allows it to adapt and thrive," said Peggy Scherpenberg, chairwoman of the Belgian Business Council.

At company level, that adaptability is being tested.

Firms are hedging through supply chain diversification and scenario planning rather than straightforward expansion, a shift Evangeline Monjardin, chairwoman of the Philippine Business Council, put down to "proactive policies, strong institutional readiness, and robust public-private collaboration".

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