Page 17 - Aamir Rehman - Dubai & Co Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States-McGraw-Hill (2007)

Introducing Dubai & Co. 3

The Kuwait Investment Authority, by the way, was also the
single largest subscriber in the world’s biggest IPO ever—the
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China’s offering in 2006, which
3
raised $19 billion. And if that were not enough, consider the fact
that a large share of China’s exports comes through Dubai’s mas-
sive Port Rashid. The port is the home base of Dubai Ports World
(DPW), a firm that runs port terminals from Hong Kong to
Germany to Canada and would today be managing several US
ports were it not for congressional intervention.
The impact of the GCC in the lives of consumers worldwide is
not surprising, considering the interdependence and openness of
today’s globalizing economies. The crucial lesson, however, is that
the GCC economies touch our lives in countless ways.

HARD FACTS: THE GCC IN THE GLOBAL
ECONOMY

If the GCC’s high-profile investments worldwide and the megapro-
jects at home—including the planned world’s tallest building (Burj
Dubai) and the world’s first “seven-star” hotel (Burj al-Arab)—
aren’t enough to convince you of the rising importance
of the Gulf states in the global economy, these facts and figures
should capture the attention of any hard-nosed global executive or
strategist:

● In 2006, GDP per capita in the GCC was close to $20,000—
nearly 3 times that of China and more than 5 times that of
India. 4
● The GCC’s current account surplus ($155 billion) is
roughly on par with that of China ($161 billion). China
achieves this, however, with a population over 30 times
larger than that of the GCC countries. 5
● The GCC’s contribution to global savings is believed to be
larger than China’s—despite the fact that its population is
only 3 percent of China’s.
● Qatar, a small but resource-rich GCC country, reached a
GDP per capita of $45,000—more than 10 times India’s. If
its economy grows according to expectations, Qatar may
have the world’s highest GDP per capita by 2011. 6