Yet ppl here are still crying for them being limited to $500k a year.
This the dumbest thing in the world, you want more brin drain from the US, well these people will try to seek money elswhere, like Dubai, where execs are fleeing to make their $$$
For many expatriate workers in Dubai it was the ultimate symbol of their tax-free wealth: a luxurious car that few could have afforded on the money they earned at home.Now, faced with crippling debts as a result of their high living and Dubai’s fading fortunes, many expatriates are abandoning their cars at the airport and fleeing home rather than risk jail for defaulting on loans.Police have found more than 3,000 cars outside Dubai’s international airport in recent months. Most of the cars – four-wheel drives, saloons and “a few” Mercedes – had keys left in the ignition.Some had used-to-the-limit credit cards in the glove box. Others had notes of apology attached to the windscreen. “Every day we find more and more cars,” said one senior airport security official, who did not want to be named. “Christmas was the worst – we found more than two dozen on a single day.”When the market collapsed and the emirate’s once-booming economy started to slow down, many expatriates were left owning several homes and unable to pay the mortgages without credit.“There were a lot of people living the high life, investing in real estate and a lifestyle they couldn’t afford,” one senior banker said.Under Sharia, which prevails in Dubai, the punishment for defaulting on a debt is severe. Bouncing a check, for example, is punishable with jail. Those who flee the emirate are known as skips.The abandoned cars underscore a worrying trend. Five years ago the Emir, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, embarked on an ambitious plan to transform Dubai into a hub for business and tourism. A building boom fuelled double-digit growth, with thousands of Westerners arriving every day, eager to cash in on the emirate’s promise of easy living and wealth.Many Westerners invested in Dubai’s skyrocketing real estate market, buying and reselling homes before building was even complete. But, as the recession took effect, property and financial companies made thousands of workers redundant and banks tightened lending. Construction companies have delayed or cancelled projects and tourism is slowing.There are increasing signs that the foreigners who once flocked to Dubai are leaving. “There is no way of tracking actual numbers, but the anecdotal evidence is overwhelming. Dubai is emptying out,” said a Western diplomat.International schools are having to be flexible on fees as expatriate parents run out of cash. Louise, a single mother from Britain, said that her son’s school had allowed her to pay a partial fee until she found a new job after her redundancy in December. “According to the headmaster, a lot of people had come into the school saying they had lost their jobs so the school was trying to be a bit more flexible,” she said.Most of the emirate’s banks are not affiliated with British financial institutions, so those who flee do not have to worry about creditors. Their abandoned cars are eventually sold off by the banks at weekly auctions. Those recently advertised include BMWs, Porsches and Mercedes.Simon Goldsmith, a spokesman for the British Embassy in Dubai, said that that there were approximately 100,000 Britons living in Dubai last year. However, the embassy has no way of tracking how many have fled back to the UK. “We’ve heard stories, but when somebody makes that kind of decision, they generally keep it to themselves,” he said.Police have issued warrants against owners of the deserted cars. Those who return risk arrest at the airport.Heading home3.62 million expatriates in Dubai864,000 nationals8% population decline predicted this year, as expatriates leave1,500 visas cancelled every day in Dubai62% of homes occupied by expatriates 60% fall in property values predicted50% slump in the price of luxury apartments on Palm Jumeirah25% reduction in luxury spending among UAE expatriatesSources: arabbusiness.com ; Times database
Agence France-Presse | 02/06/2009 12:46 AMPrinter-friendly versionPrinter-friendly version | Send to friendSend to friendDUBAI - More than half the building projects in the United Arab Emirates, together worth 582 billion dollars or 45 per cent of total value, have been put on hold amid the global financial crisis, a study said on Thursday.The number of projects suspended is 52.8 percent of the total but the ones which are ongoing have a greater combined value of 698 billion dollars, according to figures published by the Dubai-based Proleads market research company.The study put the total value of construction orders in the oil-rich state at 1.28 trillion dollars.Proleads cast doubt over the completion timetable of real estate developments scheduled to be ready in early 2009."While numerous real estate projects are scheduled for completion in early 2009, the rate at which projects are being completed has slowed down," the market search group said.Yet more projects may be deferred in 2009 in the real estate sector, which represented in mid-January 84 percent of the total value of construction orders, but suspensions will be fewer among infrastructure schemes, it said.The study said the projects which are continuing indicate that the UAE economy is still doing better than other economies hit by the global financial crisis."To put it into perspective, the 698 billion dollars of continuing work we are reporting is almost equivalent to the latest stimulus package proposed for the United States," said Emil Rademeyer, director of Proleads Global."The UAE may no longer be the land of milk and honey but it is still in a far better position than most," he said.Proleads said that a frenzied real estate sector in the emirate of Dubai led to five-years of unrelenting growth in the UAE construction industry, but the global financial crisis has cast its shadow.
dubai is tanking.February 5, 2009Driven down by debt, Dubai expats give new meaning to long-stay car parkhttp://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/markets/the_gulf/article5663618.eceUAE halts building projects worth $582B: study http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/business/02/05/09/uae-halts-building-projects-worth-582b-study
That's a good point, but who really wants to live in India?
