Investors: Dubai crisis overstated

After being down in the doldrums for weeks, a late rally on Dubai markets helped push up stocks on Sunday, for the first rise since the Emirate's shock debt announcement late last month. Meanwhile, markets in Abu Dhabi also scored their largest gains since late March. According to several Chinese investors in Dubai, debt problems were blown out of proportion and sentiment is already improving.

Gao Du is a Zhejiang businessman, now the President of Arab-Asia Business TV based in Dubai. He says he's astonished by media reports which he feels have exaggerated the Dubai crisis. He says although many investors have seen declines in property prices, that was a trend that started in 2008. And since then, there's been a pick-up in sentiment.

Gao Du, President of Arab-Asia Business TV said "The so called crisis was sparked by an enterprise, which was in the process of restructuring, and could not pay back its debt in time. These things take time, and I feel a simple affair has been exaggerated."

Other investors have also expressed disbelief in speculation about a fresh round of economic crisis. According to them, local expo and tourism businesses have shown clear signs of recovery after being hit hard by the financial crisis that began late last year.

Hu Weidong, Zhejiang Investor said "I think media in the US and Europe as well as China are over-reacting to the event. The whole middle east region, and India, Pakistan, and Iran are positive about the Dubai economy. They are not even offering any discounts on property, because they believe prices will stay high."

Hu Weidong says since the end of last year, property prices have climbed 7 percent, and the debt crisis has done little to halt the recovery.