DUBAI: Dubai's top fiscal officials said Sunday the indebted city-state will likely not need another bailout, but noted that cash-boosting proposals such as asset sales and offering shares in state-run companies are under consideration. The comments were part of a rare show-and-tell by Dubai's financial braintrust as they stressed they have a handle on debt crunch in the one-time Arab boomtown. The aim was to portray a sense of calm and optimism a year after the global economic slowdown slammed the brakes on Dubai's white-hot growth, triggering fears of a broader default as details of the emirate's huge debt load became apparent. To underscore the importance of the message, the group was joined midway through the presentation by Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, who was personally humbled by the need last year for a $10 billion bailout by his oil-rich neighbor Abu Dhabi. But a senior fiscal adviser, Ahmad Humaid Al-Tayer, said he does not foresee the need for Abu Dhabi to come to the rescue again. “I don't see the need for more support from the rulers in the United Arab Emirates' capital,” said Al-Tayer, governor of the Dubai International Financial Center, the city's global banking and investment hub. Al-Tayer was joined by other high-ranking financial strategists who presented a barrage of spreadsheet facts as evidence that Dubai has turned a corner, including a rise in air and sea port cargo and important economic ties to booming markets in India and China. They also noted, however, that Dubai has been forced to retool its priorities from grand, city-sized projects to concentrate on quality-of-life plans, such as Dubai's elevated metro trains, and business-friendly priorities including a fast-track cargo “corridor” from the Jabl Ali Port to a new air terminal in the desert south of the city. “The slowdown that took place over the last two years gave us in Dubai the opportunity to rethink, regroup and return to basics,” said Sheikh Ahmad Bin Saeed Al-Maktoum, whose roles include chairman of the Dubai Supreme Fiscal Council. He said tactics in coming years include efforts to strengthen Dubai's own capital markets and possibly opening some state-owned companies to outside investors.
