Dubai has a short yet remarkable history. It is one of the seven - and the second-largest - emirates that make up the United Arab Emirates. Its first significant settlement - a small village - was established very recently in world history terms, in the 1830s, by the Maktoum family. Descendants of this family continue to rule the emirate and the present leader is His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
The original vision for a dynamic and world-class Dubai came from the current ruler's father - Sheikh Rashid Bin Zayed Al Maktoum - who ruled the emirate until 1990. His third son, who became ruler in 2006, took this vision to the next level and Dubai is well on the way to becoming one of the most modern cities in the world.
Long recognised as the leading regional trading hub in the Middle East, Dubai has transformed itself in recent years into a truly international business centre of global significance. Its tradition of trading has earned Dubai the reputation, within the Middle East, of being the city of merchants and this remains the lifeblood of the emirate. It is reflected not just in its regulatory environment, which is open and liberal, but also in the local business community's thorough familiarity with international commercial practices and in the city's cosmopolitan lifestyle.
The Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 - established before the 2008 global crisis - aims to achieve a GDP of US$108bn and real per capita GDP of $44 000 by the year 2015. Before the economic downturn, Dubai's annual average real GDP growth rate has been averaging 13% since 2000. It is expected that this will need to be revised downwards given the current global economic crisis. But it takes a lot to dampen the vision the ruling family has for this little corner of the Arab world.
The "problem" with Dubai is that it always exceeds its targets and their respective time horizons. In 2000, the plan that was set was for Dubai to increase GDP to $30bn by 2010 - this figure was exceeded in 2005, with GDP reaching $37bn, and $46bn in 2006.
Dubai has become a city of records - the first, the tallest, the largest... and its ambition includes being the most attractive place in the region for commerce and trade. For businesses and workers, there are no corporate, capital gains or income taxes, no exchange controls or limits on the repatriation of capital and profits.
Only the oil companies and foreign banks are subject to taxation; cigarettes attract a tax of 100%; and there are some forms of municipal taxes. Dubai offers international companies an ideal gateway for developing their business throughout the Middle East, Asian subcontinent, East Africa, the Eastern Mediterranean, CIS and Central Asia.
WHAT IT MEANS
 Quick response to the global financial crisis
Development plans are still on track
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As a regional business base, Dubai is strategically located midway between the Far East and Europe on the east-west trading routes and between the former Soviet Union and Africa on the north-south axis. Its airport, which ranks as one of the world's busiest in terms of transit passengers, is linked to more than 130 destinations via some 86 airlines. South Africans have flocked to the emirate, with the number of SA expat workers there said to be about 50 000.
Dubai's major trading partners are India, being the largest, followed by China and then the US. With global trade volumes coming right down in 2009, and the trade activities of these major partners falling and the US even moving into negative territory, Dubai is undoubtedly caught up in these declines.
One of Dubai's strengths is its agility and ability to respond quickly to any challenges. Government recently launched a long-term bond programme of $20bn, with the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates subscribing to the first $10bn tranche. This issue is intended to cover loans that financed its aggressive development strategy over the past several years, enabling it to meet immediate commitments, complete development projects and build market confidence.
Markets responded immediately to this bond issue, with the Dubai financial market index (which fell 72% in the crisis) jumping 8%. With a five-year maturation period, repayment is due long after the global crisis is over. Quick to respond to the downturn, government has also boosted liquidity, guaranteed bank deposits, reduced central bank lending rates and forecast a 2009 budget deficit (its first ever) of 4,2bn dirhams (about R9,4bn) in order to support government spending and stoke economic growth.
Despite the downturn, plans remain on track for the completion of Dubai's second airport by 2014. Al Maktoum International, a 140km² airport in the Jebel Ali area near the port, will operate cargo, logistics and passenger services.
Part of the Dubai strategy is to attract global conferences and conventions to the city. Natasha Tomé, marketing manager of the Dubai Convention Bureau, says Dubai is an ideal hub destination for global conferences, serviced by many direct flights from across the world. "One factor that has counted against Dubai is that the hotel rates have tended to be more expensive than those of competitive destinations such as Cape Town. However, rates have come down 50% in some instances and many conventions are relooking the area based on these more appealing prices. In February 2008, a five-star hotel would have been 3 000 dirhams a night - this has now halved."
She says Dubai is addressing the need for affordable quality accommodation in the four- and three-star ranges. "There has historically been a gap here with 160 000 out of the 380 000 beds in the city belonging to the five-star hotels. Pleasingly, hotel groups such as Holiday Inn, Ibis, Novotel, Premier Inn and Easy are starting to fill this need. We are also looking at the one-and two-star levels as many of these conferences attract students who need lower priced but decent accommodation."
The International Congress and Convention Association, which ranks cities according to their business tourism appeal, in 2008 rated Dubai as 93rd, and the goal is to move up into the top 30 by 2011.
Tomé says that negative preconceptions of the Middle East region are beginning to disappear through the efforts of the Dubai Convention Bureau. "By hosting visitors from countries such as the US, we are definitely starting to see some fears of the region dissipating."
