Dubai enlists CEOs to help secure hub status

Dubai assembled hundreds of business leaders in March to help shore up its status as a regional tourism and finance hub after a wave of strikes from Iran across the United Arab Emirates, and has since pledged 2.5 billion dirhams ($681 million) in targeted support to revive tourism, retail and broader investment confidence. The March 10 meeting, hosted by Helal Saeed Al Marri, Director General of the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), and attended by Dubai Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum, brought together major private-sector figures including real-estate magnate Hussein Sajwani and Emirates airline President Tim Clark, alongside representatives from Rothschild, UBS, JPMorgan and Citi.

"Investors want signals on how authorities will respond if tensions return, not just how they managed the last shock," said Neil Quilliam, associate fellow at Chatham House, underlining the need for forward-looking guarantees as the city seeks to prevent capital flight.

Officials at the closed-door session asked business leaders three pointed questions: how to get tourists back, how to get investors back, and what support businesses required. Participants reported that Sheikh Hamdan circulated between tables soliciting input. The meeting helped precipitate a package of measures, including a central bank liquidity facility and the 2.5 billion-dirham support pledge focused mainly on hard-hit sectors such as tourism and retail, sources at the gathering said.

Government representatives reportedly committed to fiscal and financial support while teams worked to stabilise supply chains. Several follow-up investor calls were arranged through banks, including JPMorgan and Citi. Rothschild, JPMorgan, Citi and UBS declined to comment when asked; DAMAC and Emirates did not respond to requests for comment. The DET said it maintains "regular and ongoing engagement with a broad range of stakeholders" and stressed Dubai's resilient economic foundations and commitment to long-term strategic goals.

The economic strain has been measurable. HSBC analysts have cut their 2026 Gulf growth forecast by five percentage points since the conflict began and now expect the region to contract for the first time since the Covid-19 pandemic. They warned that non-oil growth in Dubai and Abu Dhabi could fall by eight percentage points or more year-on-year. Foreign investor flows on the Dubai Financial Market swung from a net inflow position of $890 million year-to-date on February 26 — two days before the hostilities began — to net outflows of $853 million in the same period by June 12.

"March and the entire second quarter have been 'lost'," said the CEO of a UAE investment firm who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter. "I suspect recovery will be uneven, with some sectors and activities bouncing back or adjusting to the new normal faster than others," added Robert Mogielnicki, founder of consulting firm Polisphere Advisory.

Outlook

• Short term: Authorities are deploying liquidity and fiscal measures and engaging large employers and banks to stem capital flight and support supply chains.
• Medium term: Restoring investor confidence will hinge on credible contingency plans and signals about how authorities would act if tensions resume, according to analysts.
• Public messaging: A recent billboard campaign — featuring the slogan "Dubai-it" — aims to project resilience and rapid delivery as the city courts tourists, financiers and multinational firms.