Positive Outlook - Dubai Business Update 15|10|09

Well I am pleased to report that we are much busier in Dubai in the last quarter of this year. For the first time this year we are seeing an increase of companies in the Gulf agreeing to higher terms of business and using agencies to get the best people.

We have struggled with the situation hard here, as 90% of the business the Dubai office brought on was in Dubai. Therefore we have had to shift our focus on supporting clients in outside locations that we are not so familiar with (e.g. Libya, Qatar.) It has been a real insight when you see the potential these countries have to develop - they have the funds, the resources and the vision to build developments rivalling what we've seen in Dubai. Getting the staff to design, develop and build is where we come in!

We are slowly gaining the confidence of our clients in other areas based on our success with their offices here in the UAE.
Walking around Cityscape 2009 was an eye-opener for me. This is my fourth year there, and it was incredibly quiet. It was much smaller, with half the amount of stands as there have been in the last few years, and not particularly busy. However ,  in speaking to all of our clients whether they be Gulf developers, consultancies or contractors, all were confidently positive about the future. They have seen their projects, employees and ultimately their business take a thrashing during the recession and the  staff that have been retained have taken a somewhat united front of solidarity in firmly working through this year and beating the competition to win new projects in 2010.

Dubai unfortunately is seeing little, if no, signs of recovery. The debt is too large to make a  difference to the market and the general consensus is that not a lot will be seen in 2010 in Dubai aside from a little financial recovery. Abu Dhabi is ploughing on, although somewhat slower, and the majority of the successful consultancies and contractors appear to be focusing on winning projects in other Gulf and North Africa locations such as Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Egypt and Qatar. Some of the larger consultancies have opened offices or small site offices in these locations to put employees on the ground as the projects are going ahead - all of which was very positive for us.

Despite what has happened, after a visit from Malcolm Scott and meeting with clients at Cityscape, this week has seen the Dubai office placing 3 candidates in top tier roles with several consultancies in Dubai to start in November! We also have seen an increase of approximately 75% for roles to work on in the Gulf this week, which has boosted the consultants here greatly. We are finding that despite seeing a large number of our competitors no longer existing with presence in the Middle East, we have retained a position at the top, still getting recommendations from clients and candidates daily. We are continuing to supply our clients with top level staff, and continuing to remain positive and confident. 

Thanks to over 25 years in this industry, we have seen proof that Adrem, as an international business, will continue to be a first port of call for the top companies looking for their best people.