sunsettommy
03-02-2006, 09:05 PM
From Global Piracy,
SECOND REVIEW DRAFT 2-27-06 http://www.globalatlantic.com/pirate/teaParty.jpg
Ports, Business & Politics ... The UAE/P&0 Deal
by: P.O. Saunders & Robert J. Murphy
Feb 27, 2006 3PM EST
Copyright 2006, all rights reserved
Introduction: The authors' experience with port security centers on marine robotics and marine remote sensing in relation to threat analyses, surveillance and detection methods. Murphy has been a frequent visitor to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, as recently as February 2006. He maintains business interests in the region that relate to port security.
Because of the significance of the issues and the rapid evolution of events related to DPW, this preliminary article will be updated as events warrant. Updates will be noted in the date line above and on the Global Piracy home page.
Abstract: Dubai Port World's [DPW] purchase of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, with holdings that include USA port assets as a minor portion, has generated emotion and controversy. This article examines the historical, political, economic and commercial realities that underly the current issues being presented by politicians and the media. Background research includes the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, and the Bush Administration relationships which may have been a factor in review decisions. Motivation for the opposition to the Dubai Port World/P&O transaction from some Republicans, the US in general and US Democrats is also examined.
In this article:
The old British East India legacy, business model is "out"; UAE with their expansive, technology-oriented economy, supported by oil money is "in" with regard to the US Bush administration;
The US Port deal is good business and completely-logical;
Media and political representation claims that the DPW/P&O sale will vest "control" of major US ports in DPW is incorrect; At issue are terminal operations and security functions which will remain unchanged;
A good relationship with the UAE is mutually beneficial with the USA;
Existing US statutes and jurisdictions are sufficient for port security ... in principle
US port security as practiced is inadequate and must be entirely-rethought;
Security in UAE/ DPW facilities will likely be an improvement over P&O management;
Opposition to the DPW/P&O transaction is motivated either by lack of information or opposing economic interests;
The scope of the transaction is consistent with multi-national business in general;
Congressional prohibition of the UAE/P&O transaction is dangerous to the interests of the US;
The shipping industry is concatenating and becoming very high-tech
The solutions to port security are to be found in high technology, robotics and remote sensing, vs. putting US personnel on the ground in foreign ports or training foreign nationals. _________________
The recent announcement that a company owned by the United Arab Emirates purchased a British shipping company and will manage some commercial shipping operations at six major U.S. ports has caused an international political stir. The announcement hit a nerve with US conservatives and liberals alike. Port issues, although usually not newsworthy, have roots that go back to the American Revolution and deep into the American psyche.The Boston Tea Party was a defiant act by Colonial radicals. In 1773, crates of tea on ships in Boston Harbor were destroyed and the event has been generally seen as the one of the first, precipitating events in the American Revolution.The Tea Party elements are similar to those in today's issues... including a large British shipping company, [Then the Dutch East India Company]; imports from the Orient and import/export control issues with a foreign king.
US history revolves around port control. The US National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, was written during the British naval bombardment of Baltimore during the War of 1812. In the same war, most US government facilities were burned to the ground by the British, including the White House. It has only been a few generations since the US Civil War [1861-1865] and internal, domestic resentment still lingers over the North's naval blockade of Southern ports, which literally starved the South into submission.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operates most of the regional transportation infrastructure, including the bridges, tunnels, airports, and seaports in the New York & New Jersey Port District. It was formerly located at 1 World Trade Center until the attack on 9/11/2001, when 84 of their employees were killed.
There are other major and related issues for the US public like: the recent turnover of the Panama Canal; a widening trade deficit; waves of illegal aliens pouring over open borders and the general misperception that the United States in general is being sold to foreigners at a frightening pace. In reality, foreign investment in China will approximate that of the US and gross USD foreign investment in the UAE in 2006 will be at least double that of foreign investment in the US. Nonetheless, the American Public, along with most of their elected representatives, are deeply concerned about the P&O takeover. Americans are skittish, and the issue of port security will not go away soon.
We maintain the position that the US popular resistance to the DPW/P&O deal is an emotional one, vs. practical. The resistance has been generated by bad information that has been rushed into the media. Worse, some articles "spin" their headlines with a transparent political agenda. Just one example is the New York Post, On 2/25/06, the Post ran the headline QAEDA CLAIM: WE 'INFILTRATED' UAE GOV'T [URL source (http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/64126.htm)] That sounds like big news, however, the document was nearly 4 years old at a minimum, and down inside the article " Little is known about the origins or authorship of the message." This is an intentional propaganda technique for a political constituency [Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York], rather than even minimal journalism.
No small part of the problem is that US citizens are unhappy with their own self-concept. Our relative educational level is decreasing compared to the rest of the world, and cornerstone industries like steel and automobiles [Ford and General Motors] have gone into decline. Consider:
Foreign-owned establishments, on average, are far outperforming their U.S.-owned counterparts. Although foreign-owned firms account for less than 4% of all U.S. manufacturing establishments, they have 14% more value added on average and 15% higher value of shipments than other manufacturers. The average plant size for foreign owned firms is much larger — five times — than for U.S. firms, on average, in similar industries. This difference in plant size apparently rises from the fact that there are no small plants among those that are foreign-owned. As a result of the larger plant scale and newer plant age, foreign-owned firms paid wages on average that were 14% higher than all U.S. manufacturing firms, had 40% higher productivity per worker, and 50% greater output per worker than the average of comparable U.S.-owned manufacturing plants. Foreign-owned firms also display higher capital intensity in a larger number of industries than all U.S. establishments. Source:Foreign Direct Investment in the United States: An Economic Analysis, US Congressional Research Services (http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS21857.pdf), March 23, 2005
Taken in context, Dubai Port World's purchase of the P&O Company with its US port assets understandably generates strong emotions in the American public, especially given that they were surprised on short notice during a cold winter with high heating prices.
The portion of P&O's overall business accounted for by their US interests amounts to only ten percent [10%]. Source: David Osler, Industrial Shipping Editor, Lloyd's List. [audio interview] (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5225229) Osler points out that control of US ports is not at issue ... that what is being purchased is [leasehold interests in] terminals and cranes within the ports, where security procedures remain unchanged. For the $6.9B [USD] deal, the portion of the purchase price represented by US interests is $690M [USD]. In perspective, that's the cost of a new, state of the art passenger cruise ship ...or, the cost of a single spa/hotel being built inside Dubailand (http://www.ameinfo.com/77595.html), a theme park mega-resort. According to official sources, investments in Dubailand will be $18 Billion [USD] in the next 18 months! In the grand flow of international investment, the $690M USD portion of the DPW deal for US port leases is proportionally-small ...
Foreign direct investment in the United States declined sharply after 2000, when a record $300 billion was invested in U.S. businesses and real estate. In 2004, according to preliminary data, foreigners invested about $100 billion. Foreign direct investments are highly sought after by State and local governments that are struggling to create additional jobs in their localities. In addition, many in Congress encourage such investment to offset the perceived negative economic effects of U.S. firms investing abroad. On a cumulative basis, the British remain the largest foreign direct investors in the U.S. economy, with French, Dutch, and Japanese investors trailing behind. Source:Foreign Direct Investment in the United States: An Economic Analysis, US Congressional Research Services (http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS21857.pdf), March 23, 2005
The $690 million dollar portion of the P&O purchase will unquestionably be a fraction of one percent of the total foreign investment in the US in 2006. Strictly, the UAE is not purchasing port assets ... It's buying shares in a British, publicly-held company with leases in US ports. Presuming that DPW's track record is indicative of how they would run their leased facilities in the US ... they would hire Americans. DPW's German Management (http://www.dpiterminals.com/memdet.asp?MemberID=30&MCatID=13&PSID=&PageID=&SubPageID=&CatID=1&SubCatID=2&ProdID=27&SProdID=61) Team is German and their Australian Management (http://www.dpiterminals.com/memdet.asp?MemberID=35&MCatID=1&PSID=&PageID=&SubPageID=&CatID=1&SubCatID=1&ProdID=19&SProdID=53) Team is Australian.
http://www.globalatlantic.com/pirate/Orient_gplogo.jpg
Who are The Peninsular and Oriental Navigation Company and why would shareholders want to sell?
P&O, until the transaction is concluded, is a publicly-held British company that was founded in 1822.
Sold Princess lines [Note: GP understands completely why the increased risk of carrying passengers with current piracy levels is a reason for divestiture.]
P&O is active in Chinese joint ventures in the container business.
Lost bid for Umm Qasr, under the US military occupation of Iraq. The Bush administration gave the concession for operating the port to Stevedoring Services of America, a politically-connected firm with close Republican ties. Specifically, P&O has lost political clout in the US.
High British taxation means that lesser-burdened corporations can make more money with the same assets.
P&0 has had past liability problems in shipping ...A ferry accident in July 1987 killed 193 and resulted in findings of manslaughter. A public British inquiry found that P&O possessed a "disease of sloppiness" which permiated the company's hierarchy [source] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%26O)
http://www.globalatlantic.com/pirate/POshares_annotated.jpg
Divestiture and liquidation are consistent with the ongoing denoument of British Imperialism and general trends in British business.
Shipping is an energy-intensive business and profits are very contingent on oil prices and succeptible to volatility and increases. [The UAE is not so encumbered.]
The UAE has precipitated, and is winning, a capitalistic competition with Singapore and Hong Kong for dominating shipping in the region. P&O shareholders enjoyed extraordinary profits from the competitive buyout. "A bidding war commenced when Singapore's PSA International (http://www.globalatlantic.com/wiki/PSA_International) made a £3.5 billion offer, which Dubai Ports World then topped with a bid of £3.9bn (US$7bn) Despite speculation that it would make a higher bid, PSA withdrew, and in February 2006 shareholders voted in favour of the offer from Dubai." source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%26O)Dubai and the UAE (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ae.html):
The UAE has an open economy with a high per capita income and a sizable annual trade surplus. Its wealth is based on oil and gas output (about 30% of GDP), and the fortunes of the economy fluctuate with the prices of those commodities. Since the discovery of oil in the UAE more than 30 years ago, the UAE has undergone a profound transformation from an impoverished region of small desert principalities to a modern state with a high standard of living. At present levels of production, oil and gas reserves should last for more than 100 years. The government has increased spending on job creation and infrastructure expansion and is opening up its utilities to greater private sector involvement. Higher oil revenue, strong liquidity, and cheap credit in 2005 led to a surge in asset prices (shares and real estate) and consumer inflation. Source: US CIA (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ae.html)
Because of the world's oil price increases, and intense pace of domestic development, the UAE has the luxury of implementing an intense diversification program, with a focus on tourism, shipping and aircraft.
Facts about the UAE:
Population: 5 million; GNP $80 billion [Compare: US GNP 11,350 Billion; China 1,529 Billion]
Dubai plans to invest $15 billion to create a company that will lease planes, develop airports and make aircraft parts.
Emirates, the largest airline in the Arab world, may buy as many as 50 wide-body aircraft from Boeing and Airbus in the next four years
Dubai International is the busiest airport in the Middle East. [24.7 million passengers and 1.3 million tons of cargo in 2005, per official sources]
The UAE is expanding world-wide including investments like: purchase of a major Scottish engineering firm; Chinese container JVs, and development of airports in India.
To eliminate dependance on an oil economy, they are diversifying and making massive investments in to becoming the the world's premiere business and tourism location.
The UAE has: the world's highest hotel occupancy rate, and the highest rate per room, beating New York, source: Deloitte and Smith Travel Research and Global Lodging Review.
The crime rate is at the world's bottom, which they attribute to their virtually non-existent unemployment rate.
They desire close ties with the US ... the world's only superpower. One reason is their proximity to Iran, which invaded their territory in 1971, [that territory remains un-relinquished]. UAE source (http://www.uaeinteract.com/maps/et_31.asp)
Dubai: More than 400,000 Iranians are estimated to have moved Dh730 billion ($200 billion USD) of capital into Dubai recently, mostly invested in the UAE's burgeoning real estate sector, according to Iranian sources ... somewhat inflated ... the increased funding flowing into the UAE may also be as a result of the changing political situation within Iran ... source (http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=247468) [Note: the number may be somewhat inflated]
The UAE, which once "recognized" the Taliban in Afghanistan, withdrew recognition immediately after the New York World Trade Center 9/11 attack. source (http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/21/gen.america.under.attack/)[vs. e.g. Pakistan] [Note: Seldom mentioned lately is that the Taliban were Mujahideen and came to power with US arms, money and training.]
News Item [02/24/2006]: Official Statement: UAE condemns crimes against holy shrines in Iraq ... "The UAE yesterday strongly condemned the heinous crime which took place at a religious shrine in Iraq. The UAE condemns in the strongest possible terms this terrorist act which mainly aims at sowing seeds of division and sedition among the sons of the brotherly Iraqi people,' said Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The UAE is adding its voice to that of Iraqi national, spiritual and political leaders and appeals to all to deny the terrorists, who don't respect sanctity, the opportunity to carry out their schemes which seek to destroy Iraq and divide its people,' Sheikh Abdullah added." (Emirates News (http://www.uaeinteract.com/news/default.asp)
Agency, WAM)http://www.globalatlantic.com/pirate/UAE_Horse.jpg
Official UAE policy is sports & entertainment expansionism, not military. These are happy people, not radicals Islamists that harbor bitter, impoverished terrorists. We take sports and entertainment investment as an indication of UAE aspirations ... See: Tiger Woods (http://www.ameinfo.com/77058.html); Wellness Resort (http://www.ameinfo.com/71255.html); Golf City (http://www.ameinfo.com/71255.html) ;World's Biggest Wheel; (http://www.ameinfo.com/62239.html) Equine & Boats (http://fisuforum.uae.gov.ae/uae_sports.htm)[These people are having fun ...]
http://www.globalpiracy.com/
This is a very long article! The above is about 25% of the article.
SECOND REVIEW DRAFT 2-27-06 http://www.globalatlantic.com/pirate/teaParty.jpg
Ports, Business & Politics ... The UAE/P&0 Deal
by: P.O. Saunders & Robert J. Murphy
Feb 27, 2006 3PM EST
Copyright 2006, all rights reserved
Introduction: The authors' experience with port security centers on marine robotics and marine remote sensing in relation to threat analyses, surveillance and detection methods. Murphy has been a frequent visitor to Abu Dhabi and Dubai, as recently as February 2006. He maintains business interests in the region that relate to port security.
Because of the significance of the issues and the rapid evolution of events related to DPW, this preliminary article will be updated as events warrant. Updates will be noted in the date line above and on the Global Piracy home page.
Abstract: Dubai Port World's [DPW] purchase of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, with holdings that include USA port assets as a minor portion, has generated emotion and controversy. This article examines the historical, political, economic and commercial realities that underly the current issues being presented by politicians and the media. Background research includes the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company, and the Bush Administration relationships which may have been a factor in review decisions. Motivation for the opposition to the Dubai Port World/P&O transaction from some Republicans, the US in general and US Democrats is also examined.
In this article:
The old British East India legacy, business model is "out"; UAE with their expansive, technology-oriented economy, supported by oil money is "in" with regard to the US Bush administration;
The US Port deal is good business and completely-logical;
Media and political representation claims that the DPW/P&O sale will vest "control" of major US ports in DPW is incorrect; At issue are terminal operations and security functions which will remain unchanged;
A good relationship with the UAE is mutually beneficial with the USA;
Existing US statutes and jurisdictions are sufficient for port security ... in principle
US port security as practiced is inadequate and must be entirely-rethought;
Security in UAE/ DPW facilities will likely be an improvement over P&O management;
Opposition to the DPW/P&O transaction is motivated either by lack of information or opposing economic interests;
The scope of the transaction is consistent with multi-national business in general;
Congressional prohibition of the UAE/P&O transaction is dangerous to the interests of the US;
The shipping industry is concatenating and becoming very high-tech
The solutions to port security are to be found in high technology, robotics and remote sensing, vs. putting US personnel on the ground in foreign ports or training foreign nationals. _________________
The recent announcement that a company owned by the United Arab Emirates purchased a British shipping company and will manage some commercial shipping operations at six major U.S. ports has caused an international political stir. The announcement hit a nerve with US conservatives and liberals alike. Port issues, although usually not newsworthy, have roots that go back to the American Revolution and deep into the American psyche.The Boston Tea Party was a defiant act by Colonial radicals. In 1773, crates of tea on ships in Boston Harbor were destroyed and the event has been generally seen as the one of the first, precipitating events in the American Revolution.The Tea Party elements are similar to those in today's issues... including a large British shipping company, [Then the Dutch East India Company]; imports from the Orient and import/export control issues with a foreign king.
US history revolves around port control. The US National Anthem, The Star Spangled Banner, was written during the British naval bombardment of Baltimore during the War of 1812. In the same war, most US government facilities were burned to the ground by the British, including the White House. It has only been a few generations since the US Civil War [1861-1865] and internal, domestic resentment still lingers over the North's naval blockade of Southern ports, which literally starved the South into submission.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey operates most of the regional transportation infrastructure, including the bridges, tunnels, airports, and seaports in the New York & New Jersey Port District. It was formerly located at 1 World Trade Center until the attack on 9/11/2001, when 84 of their employees were killed.
There are other major and related issues for the US public like: the recent turnover of the Panama Canal; a widening trade deficit; waves of illegal aliens pouring over open borders and the general misperception that the United States in general is being sold to foreigners at a frightening pace. In reality, foreign investment in China will approximate that of the US and gross USD foreign investment in the UAE in 2006 will be at least double that of foreign investment in the US. Nonetheless, the American Public, along with most of their elected representatives, are deeply concerned about the P&O takeover. Americans are skittish, and the issue of port security will not go away soon.
We maintain the position that the US popular resistance to the DPW/P&O deal is an emotional one, vs. practical. The resistance has been generated by bad information that has been rushed into the media. Worse, some articles "spin" their headlines with a transparent political agenda. Just one example is the New York Post, On 2/25/06, the Post ran the headline QAEDA CLAIM: WE 'INFILTRATED' UAE GOV'T [URL source (http://www.nypost.com/news/worldnews/64126.htm)] That sounds like big news, however, the document was nearly 4 years old at a minimum, and down inside the article " Little is known about the origins or authorship of the message." This is an intentional propaganda technique for a political constituency [Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York], rather than even minimal journalism.
No small part of the problem is that US citizens are unhappy with their own self-concept. Our relative educational level is decreasing compared to the rest of the world, and cornerstone industries like steel and automobiles [Ford and General Motors] have gone into decline. Consider:
Foreign-owned establishments, on average, are far outperforming their U.S.-owned counterparts. Although foreign-owned firms account for less than 4% of all U.S. manufacturing establishments, they have 14% more value added on average and 15% higher value of shipments than other manufacturers. The average plant size for foreign owned firms is much larger — five times — than for U.S. firms, on average, in similar industries. This difference in plant size apparently rises from the fact that there are no small plants among those that are foreign-owned. As a result of the larger plant scale and newer plant age, foreign-owned firms paid wages on average that were 14% higher than all U.S. manufacturing firms, had 40% higher productivity per worker, and 50% greater output per worker than the average of comparable U.S.-owned manufacturing plants. Foreign-owned firms also display higher capital intensity in a larger number of industries than all U.S. establishments. Source:Foreign Direct Investment in the United States: An Economic Analysis, US Congressional Research Services (http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS21857.pdf), March 23, 2005
Taken in context, Dubai Port World's purchase of the P&O Company with its US port assets understandably generates strong emotions in the American public, especially given that they were surprised on short notice during a cold winter with high heating prices.
The portion of P&O's overall business accounted for by their US interests amounts to only ten percent [10%]. Source: David Osler, Industrial Shipping Editor, Lloyd's List. [audio interview] (http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5225229) Osler points out that control of US ports is not at issue ... that what is being purchased is [leasehold interests in] terminals and cranes within the ports, where security procedures remain unchanged. For the $6.9B [USD] deal, the portion of the purchase price represented by US interests is $690M [USD]. In perspective, that's the cost of a new, state of the art passenger cruise ship ...or, the cost of a single spa/hotel being built inside Dubailand (http://www.ameinfo.com/77595.html), a theme park mega-resort. According to official sources, investments in Dubailand will be $18 Billion [USD] in the next 18 months! In the grand flow of international investment, the $690M USD portion of the DPW deal for US port leases is proportionally-small ...
Foreign direct investment in the United States declined sharply after 2000, when a record $300 billion was invested in U.S. businesses and real estate. In 2004, according to preliminary data, foreigners invested about $100 billion. Foreign direct investments are highly sought after by State and local governments that are struggling to create additional jobs in their localities. In addition, many in Congress encourage such investment to offset the perceived negative economic effects of U.S. firms investing abroad. On a cumulative basis, the British remain the largest foreign direct investors in the U.S. economy, with French, Dutch, and Japanese investors trailing behind. Source:Foreign Direct Investment in the United States: An Economic Analysis, US Congressional Research Services (http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/RS21857.pdf), March 23, 2005
The $690 million dollar portion of the P&O purchase will unquestionably be a fraction of one percent of the total foreign investment in the US in 2006. Strictly, the UAE is not purchasing port assets ... It's buying shares in a British, publicly-held company with leases in US ports. Presuming that DPW's track record is indicative of how they would run their leased facilities in the US ... they would hire Americans. DPW's German Management (http://www.dpiterminals.com/memdet.asp?MemberID=30&MCatID=13&PSID=&PageID=&SubPageID=&CatID=1&SubCatID=2&ProdID=27&SProdID=61) Team is German and their Australian Management (http://www.dpiterminals.com/memdet.asp?MemberID=35&MCatID=1&PSID=&PageID=&SubPageID=&CatID=1&SubCatID=1&ProdID=19&SProdID=53) Team is Australian.
http://www.globalatlantic.com/pirate/Orient_gplogo.jpg
Who are The Peninsular and Oriental Navigation Company and why would shareholders want to sell?
P&O, until the transaction is concluded, is a publicly-held British company that was founded in 1822.
Sold Princess lines [Note: GP understands completely why the increased risk of carrying passengers with current piracy levels is a reason for divestiture.]
P&O is active in Chinese joint ventures in the container business.
Lost bid for Umm Qasr, under the US military occupation of Iraq. The Bush administration gave the concession for operating the port to Stevedoring Services of America, a politically-connected firm with close Republican ties. Specifically, P&O has lost political clout in the US.
High British taxation means that lesser-burdened corporations can make more money with the same assets.
P&0 has had past liability problems in shipping ...A ferry accident in July 1987 killed 193 and resulted in findings of manslaughter. A public British inquiry found that P&O possessed a "disease of sloppiness" which permiated the company's hierarchy [source] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%26O)
http://www.globalatlantic.com/pirate/POshares_annotated.jpg
Divestiture and liquidation are consistent with the ongoing denoument of British Imperialism and general trends in British business.
Shipping is an energy-intensive business and profits are very contingent on oil prices and succeptible to volatility and increases. [The UAE is not so encumbered.]
The UAE has precipitated, and is winning, a capitalistic competition with Singapore and Hong Kong for dominating shipping in the region. P&O shareholders enjoyed extraordinary profits from the competitive buyout. "A bidding war commenced when Singapore's PSA International (http://www.globalatlantic.com/wiki/PSA_International) made a £3.5 billion offer, which Dubai Ports World then topped with a bid of £3.9bn (US$7bn) Despite speculation that it would make a higher bid, PSA withdrew, and in February 2006 shareholders voted in favour of the offer from Dubai." source (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P%26O)Dubai and the UAE (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ae.html):
The UAE has an open economy with a high per capita income and a sizable annual trade surplus. Its wealth is based on oil and gas output (about 30% of GDP), and the fortunes of the economy fluctuate with the prices of those commodities. Since the discovery of oil in the UAE more than 30 years ago, the UAE has undergone a profound transformation from an impoverished region of small desert principalities to a modern state with a high standard of living. At present levels of production, oil and gas reserves should last for more than 100 years. The government has increased spending on job creation and infrastructure expansion and is opening up its utilities to greater private sector involvement. Higher oil revenue, strong liquidity, and cheap credit in 2005 led to a surge in asset prices (shares and real estate) and consumer inflation. Source: US CIA (http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ae.html)
Because of the world's oil price increases, and intense pace of domestic development, the UAE has the luxury of implementing an intense diversification program, with a focus on tourism, shipping and aircraft.
Facts about the UAE:
Population: 5 million; GNP $80 billion [Compare: US GNP 11,350 Billion; China 1,529 Billion]
Dubai plans to invest $15 billion to create a company that will lease planes, develop airports and make aircraft parts.
Emirates, the largest airline in the Arab world, may buy as many as 50 wide-body aircraft from Boeing and Airbus in the next four years
Dubai International is the busiest airport in the Middle East. [24.7 million passengers and 1.3 million tons of cargo in 2005, per official sources]
The UAE is expanding world-wide including investments like: purchase of a major Scottish engineering firm; Chinese container JVs, and development of airports in India.
To eliminate dependance on an oil economy, they are diversifying and making massive investments in to becoming the the world's premiere business and tourism location.
The UAE has: the world's highest hotel occupancy rate, and the highest rate per room, beating New York, source: Deloitte and Smith Travel Research and Global Lodging Review.
The crime rate is at the world's bottom, which they attribute to their virtually non-existent unemployment rate.
They desire close ties with the US ... the world's only superpower. One reason is their proximity to Iran, which invaded their territory in 1971, [that territory remains un-relinquished]. UAE source (http://www.uaeinteract.com/maps/et_31.asp)
Dubai: More than 400,000 Iranians are estimated to have moved Dh730 billion ($200 billion USD) of capital into Dubai recently, mostly invested in the UAE's burgeoning real estate sector, according to Iranian sources ... somewhat inflated ... the increased funding flowing into the UAE may also be as a result of the changing political situation within Iran ... source (http://skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=247468) [Note: the number may be somewhat inflated]
The UAE, which once "recognized" the Taliban in Afghanistan, withdrew recognition immediately after the New York World Trade Center 9/11 attack. source (http://archives.cnn.com/2001/US/09/21/gen.america.under.attack/)[vs. e.g. Pakistan] [Note: Seldom mentioned lately is that the Taliban were Mujahideen and came to power with US arms, money and training.]
News Item [02/24/2006]: Official Statement: UAE condemns crimes against holy shrines in Iraq ... "The UAE yesterday strongly condemned the heinous crime which took place at a religious shrine in Iraq. The UAE condemns in the strongest possible terms this terrorist act which mainly aims at sowing seeds of division and sedition among the sons of the brotherly Iraqi people,' said Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The UAE is adding its voice to that of Iraqi national, spiritual and political leaders and appeals to all to deny the terrorists, who don't respect sanctity, the opportunity to carry out their schemes which seek to destroy Iraq and divide its people,' Sheikh Abdullah added." (Emirates News (http://www.uaeinteract.com/news/default.asp)
Agency, WAM)http://www.globalatlantic.com/pirate/UAE_Horse.jpg
Official UAE policy is sports & entertainment expansionism, not military. These are happy people, not radicals Islamists that harbor bitter, impoverished terrorists. We take sports and entertainment investment as an indication of UAE aspirations ... See: Tiger Woods (http://www.ameinfo.com/77058.html); Wellness Resort (http://www.ameinfo.com/71255.html); Golf City (http://www.ameinfo.com/71255.html) ;World's Biggest Wheel; (http://www.ameinfo.com/62239.html) Equine & Boats (http://fisuforum.uae.gov.ae/uae_sports.htm)[These people are having fun ...]
http://www.globalpiracy.com/
This is a very long article! The above is about 25% of the article.