Dubai May Forfeit Status as Financial Hub to Get Abu Dhabi Help

Nov. 30 (Bloomberg) - Dubai, the debt-laden Gulf city- state, may lose its status as the region’s financial hub in return for a rescue package from its oil-rich neighbor Abu Dhabi, economists and analysts said. The bailout will mean eliminating financially unviable parts of the competing, state-run companies which lie at the root of the city’s at least $80 billion debt, according to Dubai-based UBS AG analyst Saud Masud. Dubai may also have to revert to specializing in trade and services, and drop its drive to become a regional banking center, said Ian Hay Davison, former chairman of the Dubai Financial Services Authority.   Read more