Abu Dhabi's new economy: Oil, investment and domestic development

Middle East Policy

Volumn 16, Issue 2, 2009, Pages 59-79

  Davidson, Christopher ^a  

^a DURHAM UNIVERSITY   (United Kingdom)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 67651068283     PISSN: 10611924     EISSN: 14754967     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-4967.2009.00391.x     Document Type: Article

References (183)

1. Dubai's share is now only 4 percent, with the remainder made up of minimal exports from Sharjah, Ras al-Khaimah and Fujairah. Ajman and Um al Qawain do not have commercially exploitable oil reserves. See U.S. Energy Information Administration, The United Arab Emirates: Country Analysis Brief (2007).
2. Oxford Business Group (OBG), Abu Dhabi: The Report 2007.
3. UAE Central Bank estimates, 2008.
4. The ZADCO concession will last until 2026; the ADMA until 2018; the ADCO until 2014.
5. Christopher M. Davidson, The United Arab Emirates: A Study in Survival (Lynne Rienner, 2005), pp. 94-95.
6. OBG, Abu Dhabi: The Report 2007.
7. In 1999, ADNOC revenues were estimated at $13 billion, increasing to $56 billion in 2006. See JeanFrançois Seznec, "The Gulf Sovereign Wealth Funds: Myths and Reality," Middle East Policy, Vol. 15, No. 2, 2008, p. 99.
8. Financial Times, December 17, 2008, quoting National Bank of Abu Dhabi reports.
9. The National, July 24, 2008; ADGAS statistics 2007.
10. OBG, Abu Dhabi: The Report 2007, p. 151; Davidson, pp. 94-95.
11. OBG, Abu Dhabi: The Report 2007, p. 151.
12. The National, July 24, 2008;
13. personal interviews, Abu Dhabi, April 2008.
14. Financial Times, July 8, 2008.
15. ADGAS statistics, 2007.
16. OBG, Abu Dhabi: The Report 2007, p. 152.
17. The remainder being oil and liquid fuelled. Gulf News, July 31, 2008.
18. The National, July 24, 2008.
19. Economist Intelligence Unit 2000; OBG, United Arab Emirates: The Report 2000, pp. 54-55. The second phase of the project will involve an underwater pipeline from Oman to Pakistan.
20. OBG, Abu Dhabi: The Report 2007.
21. The Kish and Henjam offshore fields will soon be exploited. Tehran Times, January 2, 2008.
22. AME Info, May 2.1, 2008.
23. The National, April 5, 2008.
24. Personal interviews, Abu Dhabi, April 2008.
25. OBG, Abu Dhabi: The Report 2007, p. 202.
26. Ibid. p. 202;
27. OBG, United Arab Emirates: The Report 2000, pp. 94-95.
28. OBG, Abu Dhabi: 'The Report 2007, p. 212.
29. The latter being built at Ruwais in cooperation with Rio Tinto. The National, July 24, 2008; Seznec, p. 101.
30. Borealis press release, March 19, 2008.
31. Arabian Business, August 29, 2008.
32. OBG, Abu Dhabi: The Report 2007, p. 203.
33. Ibid, p. 204.
34. Gulf Today, July 18, 2007; personal interviews, Abu Dhabi, August 2007.
35. OBG, Abu Dhabi: The Report 2007, p. 214.
36. Personal interviews, London, May 2007;
37. Euromoney, April 1, 2006.
38. The Government of Singapore Investment Corporation is the largest; See The Economist, January 17, 2008.
39. Norges Bank press release, May 2008. The largest Norwegian fund is the Government Pension Fund of Norway.
40. Notably the Kuwait Investment Authority; see Reuters, June 20, 2008.
41. Dubai World is thought to control $90-100 billion in funds; personal interviews, Dubai, August 2008.
42. Notably the Qatar Investment Authority. See The New York Times, December 11, 2007.
43. Hendrik Van der Meulen, "The Role of Tribal and Kinship Ties in the Politics of the United Arab Emirates" (Ph.D. thesis, Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, 1997), p. 93.
44. Personal interviews, Dubai, January 2007.
45. ADIA is based in the new Samsung building on the Comiche, which was completed in 2006 and has now eclipsed the Hilton Hotel's Baynunah Tower to become the tallest building in Abu Dhabi.
46. The Economist, January 17, 2008; Seznec, pp. 97, 101. ADIA is believed to have $875 billion, according to Deutsche Bank. Seznec believes the figure to be much lower, but he may have placed insufficient weight on ADIA's history of investments in emerging markets.
47. It was reported in January 2009 that ADIA had lost about $125 billion;
48. see Bloomberg, January 15, 2009.
49. The Abu Dhabi Investment Council was set up according to Abu Dhabi Law 16 of 2006.
50. Jean-Paul Villain joined ADIA in the early 1980s from Paribas; The New York Times, February 28, 2008.
51. Personal interviews, London, May 2008;
52. The New York Times, November 27, 2007.
53. Personal correspondence, August 2008.
54. Said bin Mubarak Rashid Al-Hajiri.
55. The New York Times, February 28, 2008;
56. personal interviews, London, May 2008;
57. OBG Abu Dhabi: The Report 2007, p. 43.
58. Seznec, p. 100;
59. personal correspondence, August 2008.
60. Seznec puts ADIC at $7 billion.
61. Khalifa bin Muhammad Al-Kindi is chair of ADIC, while Nasser bin Hamad Al-Suwaidi is deputy chair.
62. Al-Bawaba, July 13, 2008.
63. Agence France Presse, July 9, 2008.
64. The National, July 28, 2008.
65. Personal interviews, London, May 2008.
66. Seznec, p. 101.
67. Ibid, p. 101;
68. The National, August 5, 2008.
69. Zawya Dow Jones, September 18, 2007.
70. The National, July 21, 2008.
71. The National, September 11, 2008.
72. Mubadala holds 51 percent of Dolphin;
73. Total and Occidental each hold 24.5 percent. OBG, Abu Dhabi: The Report 2007, p. 128.
74. Seznec, p. 100.
75. Ibid, p. 100.
76. Ibid, pp. 100-101; Mubadala press release, December 2007;
77. AMD press release, November 16,2007.
78. The National, July 22, 2008.
79. AMEInfo, September 23, 2008. The purchase of this stake was reported as being carried out by Masdar, a subsidiary of Mubadala.
80. The National, December 4, 2008.
81. The National, December 9, 2008.
82. Gulf News, June 1.5, 2008. The subsidiary is the Compagnie Eolienne du Detroit (CED).
83. Seznec, p. 101; personal interviews, Abu Dhabi, April 2008.
84. Gulf News in June 2008 reported its assets at $23 billion.
85. ADWEA information department, 2008.
86. Personal interviews, London, June 2008.
87. 'The National, May 20, 2008.
88. International Herald Tribune, September 2, 2008.
89. Reuters, October 31, 2008.
90. By 1995, production had dropped to around 300,000 barrels per day. See Christopher M. Davidson, Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success (Hurst, 2008), p. 101.
91. Christopher M. Davidson, "Abu Dhabi: Labour Nationalization," Länderprofile: Edition Golfstaaten, December 2008, pp. 28-29.
92. The National, July 26, 2008.
93. The National, July 18, 2008; personal interviews, Abu Dhabi, April 2008.
94. OBG, Abu Dhabi: The Report 2007, p. 38.
95. Gulf News, July 1.3, 2008.
96. Ahmad bin Muhammad Al-Samerai.
97. OBG, Abu Dhabi: The Report 2007, p. 54.
98. OBG, Dubai: The Report 2007, authors' estimates.
99. An exception is Oman's "Oman Vision 2020."
100. Middle East Economic Digest, June 6, 2008.
101. Financial Times, December 1.7, 2008, quoting Hussein Nowais, chairman of Abu Dhabi Basic Industries.
102. Mubadala Development Corporation press release, July 2008, with reference to the aerospace industry.
103. The National, July 26, 2008, quoting the Abu Dhabi Department for Planning and the Economy.
104. Khaleej limes, May 11, 2008.
105. Middle East Economic Digest, June 6, 2008.
106. The National, July 12, 2008.
107. Ibid.;
108. personal interviews, Abu Dhabi, April 2008.
109. The National, July 22, 2008.
110. Ibid.
111. The National, July 12, 2008;
112. personal interviews, Abu Dhabi, April 2008.
113. The National, July 31, 2008.
114. The National, December 9, 2008.
115. Gulf News, August 3, 2008;
116. Trade Arabia, August 4, 2008.
117. OBG, Abu Dhabi: The Report 2007, p. 203. The Baynunah Class corvettes are 70m "multi-mission" naval corvettes.
118. See AMEInfo, January 8, 2007.
119. The National, July 20, 2008; Gulf News, August 2, 2008.
120. CNM press release, December 21, 2008.
121. AMEInfo, January 8, 2007.
122. Personal interviews, London, May 2008.
123. The National, July 20, 2008.
124. The National, July 30, 2008;
125. personal interviews, Abu Dhabi, April 2008.
126. It is thought that the light aircraft will be called Mako and that the jeeps are some sort of stealth jeep. See Davidson 2008, p. 266.
127. Gulf News, July 20, 2008;
128. The National, July 14, 2008;
129. The National, July 20, 2008.
130. Personal interviews, London, May 2008; to some extent corroborated by The National, August 6, 2008.
131. Sultan bin Ahmad Al-Jaber, CEO of ADFEC. 113 Arabian Business, December 8, 2007.
132. Personal correspondence with Mari Luomi, September 2008.
133. There are plans by the Environmental Agency Abu Dhabi to set up a center to treat hazardous garbage, and a new $200m recycling plant is being built at Al-Mafraq by Abu Dhabi Municipality.
134. The National, July 22, 2008.
135. See www.masdaruae.com.
136. Personal correspondence with Mari Luomi, September 2008.
137. The National, July 23, 2008.
138. The National, December 10, 2008.
139. The National, July 22, 2008.
140. AMEInfo, September 23, 2008. 123 Masdar City press release, July 2008.
141. Arabian Business, December 8, 2007.
142. Gulf News, July 31, 2008.
143. Gulf News, August 7, 2008.
144. Emirates News Agency (WAM), August 14, 2005.
145. At present there only appears to be a non-Muslim-specific prayer room above the Marina's main supermarket.
146. In summer 2008, Al-Madina Finance, a Kuwaiti investment vehicle, invested nearly $1 billion in a multitower Reem Island project. See The National, July 20, 2008.
147. There has been a very high uptake, with Aldar having issued a 3.75 billion dirham bond and Sorouh having issued a four billion dirham bond. See The National, July 14, 2008.
148. Financial Times, July 9, 2008, quoting Fitch ratings agency.
149. Bloomberg, December 4, 2008;
150. Daily Telegraph, November 2.1, 2008;
151. Guardian, December 5, 2008;
152. Financial Times, November 14, 2008.
153. Financial Times, July 15, 2008.
154. The National, July 18, 2008; Author's estimates.
155. In summer 2008, it was reported that Abu Dhabi property-price increases had begun to outstrip Dubai's. A real-estate report conducted by HSBC revealed that between late 2007, and mid 2008, Abu Dhabi property prices rose by 61 percent compared to 37 percent for Dubai. See Zawya Dow Jones, July 15, 2008.
156. The National, December 4, 2008.
157. Khaldun bin Khalifa Al-Mubarak and Khadem bin Abdullah Al-Qubaisi, respectively.
158. The National, July 29, 2008.
159. The National, July 23, 2008.
160. Personal interviews with Tamouh spokespersons, Abu Dhabi, April 2008.
161. The National, July 18, 2008.
162. AME Info, March 7, 2006.
163. The National, December 4, 2008.
164. AME Info, March 7, 2006.
165. Gulf Construction, Vol. 29, No. 8, 2008.
166. Gulf News, August 5, 2008.
167. The National, May 12, 2008.
168. The National, July 12, 2008.
169. Daily Mail, July 19, 2008.
170. The National, July 12, 2008.
171. The relationship between Mubadala and the TDIC is unclear, but it is widely understood that the TDIC is under Mubadala's umbrella, with ADTA being its sole shareholder. There is some overlap in board membership, with Muhammad bin Saif Al-Mazrui serving on both the Mubadala and TDIC boards.
172. The New York limes, March 7, 2008;
173. Financial limes, December 17, 2008.
174. Guardian, August 10, 2006.
175. AME Info, June 11, 2007.
176. BBC News, January 22, 2007.
177. Bloomberg, November 26, 2006.
178. Al-Bawaba, March 16, 2008.
179. Personal interviews, Abu Dhabi, April 2008.
180. Today, Gulf Air is effectively Bahrain's national carrier and has predicted losses of over $1 billion over the next few years. See The National, August 4, 2008.
181. Daily Telegraph, July 21, 2004
182. The National, July 14, 2008.
183. ADAC press release, July 2008; Gulf News, November 15, 2008.