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THE YEAR AHEAD: Win some, lose some [XPRESS (United Arab Emirates)](XPRESS (United Arab Emirates) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Dubai Hope springs eternal, especially around New Year. As 2012 approaches, residents of the UAE can look forward to many things from rents bottoming out to fewer hassles on the road. But like most years, this too will be a mixed bag with the highs and lows of the year gone by impacting the next 12 months. 310,000 new vehicles will hit Dubai roads 25,000 the number of residential units to be released in Abu Dhabi 5.5 per cent the average hike expected in salaries 93 per cent of UAE firms will increase their head count 52 million the number of passengers Dubai International Airport will handle Rents & Tenancy Contract There will be an over-supply of homes in Dubai, forcing more vacancies. You will also have to register your tenancy contract with the Land Department through Ejari.com. The lease agreement will cost Dh160 and failure to register will invite penalties. Craig Plumb, Head of Research at Jones Lang LaSalle, said, "Dubai's residential sector is close to the bottom of its rental cycle. This means there are some areas where rents are increasing while in others they are falling." "Rents in Abu Dhabi will be under pressure despite a high demand. Residents are likely to upgrade to better quality accommodation," said Mohanad Al Wadiya, Managing Director, Harbor Real Estate. Property If you're looking for a distress sale, forget it. Dubai will see premium sales in key areas such as Dubai Marina, Downtown Dubai, Jumeirah Lakes Tower (JLT), Emirates Living and Palm Jumeirah. But unfinished projects will see a price decline. Estimates reckon that around 10,700 apartments, 1,300 villas and 773,000 square metres of office space will be delivered by the second half of 2012. In Abu Dhabi, Asteco expects more developers to adjust strategy and secure income through leasing unsold units. Incentives will continue to include lease-to-own schemes for completed projects and discounts and flexible payment plans on bulk sales of off-plan units. Bank Rates Interest rates on personal and other loans are unlikely to see a slide as banks' cost of borrowing remains high. There will not be too many takers for loans. Cards with maximum benefits will be a key selection factor. UAE banks are likely to fare better than the rest of the markets, although next year will be a subdued one for most banks. Record oil revenues in 2011 are unlikely to offset the continuing drag of bad loan provisions from the real estate downturn in the UAE on the local banking sector. The restriction on local lending will dampen the growth outlook. Technology Social media will reign, be it smartphones, computers or television. Mobiles will move from web and entertainment to become wallets to pay for your products and services. Their increased functionality will drive data volume, entailing superfast internet connection like 4G LTE. Expect more powerful phones. Samsung is expected to come out with the world's first Intel powered smartphone on Android's 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich platform at the CES show in January, while Nokia's gorgeous Lumia 710 is also expected to land by January. In tablets, all eyes are on Apple's iPad 3. Siri will feature on iPad3 for sure, while some rumours point to a six-fold upgrade in screen resolution (2,048 by 1,536 pixels), quad core processor and 4G LTE connections. The Samsung Galaxy 7.7 Tablet and Dell Peju are also on the cards. Jobs & Salaries A staggering 93 per cent of UAE firms will be increasing their head count, according to a review by Gulf Recruitment Group. Federal employees will see their salary go up by 35-100 per cent thanks to a Presidential order. But if you're employed elsewhere, you may have to make do with marginal, merit-based salary hikes. A survey by the Hay Group has forecast pay increases of 5.2 per cent. But with the new wave in recruitments in 2011, the group's Director of Reward Information Services Vijay Gandhi said, "A new employee can expect to be paid six per cent under the market average." Chris Greaves, CEO of Hays Recruiting, said the intention to hire hasn't translated into a salary inflation. Individual candidates will continue to move jobs at the same salary. Currency The US dollar will come out a winner, gaining strength over other weak currencies. "The euro is weak and unless more positive news comes out of the Eurozone, that is not likely to change. Other currencies too are not looking good. Perceived flight to safety is going to keep the dollar on a high note for the next two to three months," says T.K. Raman, Group Chief Financial Officer (CFO), Finance House. The Indian rupee will come under severe pressure owing to a grim domestic outlook. A weakening GDP and the need for re-capitalisation from local Indian banks will drive pressure. "We foresee the rupee touching 56 against the dollar during the first quarter," says Syed Kumayl, Branch Manager, Al Fardan Exchange. Health care You can keep tabs on your health with new health care packages launched at the Primary Health Care Centres. "Currently we have three packages designed for women, diabetic patients and smokers," said Dr Maha Mohammad of the Primary Health Care Centre. They are available at select centres and are 25 per cent cheaper than the cost of individual tests. But still, health care expenses will continue to pinch as mandatory insurance remains elusive and consultations and hospital stay get dearer. National ID If you're renewing or applying for a new residence visa, you must now have a national ID card first. All the emirates have linked the two processes, with Dubai coming on stream on April 1, 2012. This is a prelude to tying both procedures with a preventive medicine scheme, with ID registration centres being set up at preventive medicine centres across the country. Mandating ID card registration as a prerequisite for visa application ensures all residents are included in the population register. An Emirates Identity Authority (Eida) spokesperson said they will launch an online application system in January, allowing applicants to avoid a trip to the typing centre, lessen typing mistakes and pay online (through credit or debit card). on the road Seat belts for backseat passengers will become mandatory and there will be an even tougher crackdown on speeding, with speed margins expected to be reduced from 20km/h to 10km/h over the maximum speed limit. A unified form for vehicle purchase will be effective starting January. It will ensure after-sales service including availability of spare parts for at least five years from the purchase date and warrantee on spare parts for at least six months against manufacturing defects. There will be less congestion thanks to Dh1 billion set aside to enhance road networks. Phones and Call Rates Starting January 1, 70,000 knock-off phones in the UAE will be decommissioned. Hole-in-wall shops may continue to offer illegal internet-to-phone calls at low costs but don't expect international call rates to drop significantly even if both etisalat and du launch their voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) service. The regulator hopes the mandatory "bistream access" scheme - allowing etisalat customers to switch to a du landline, web and TV services using the same line, and vice versa - will exert "downward pressure" on rates. The scheme's commercial launch was supposed to happen this year, but now it has been delayed till 2012. School Fees Private school fees for the 2011-2012 academic year were frozen by the Dubai Executive Council in March. But there have been no announcements for 2012-2013 yet. The Council's decision had followed separate rulings by the federal Ministry of Education and Dubai's Knowledge and Human Development Authority. But schools in Abu Dhabi are regulated by the Abu Dhabi Education Council which has allowed dozens of private schools to increase fees next academic year, media reports citing officials have said. Entertainment Loosen your purse strings as there's a lot in store on the entertainment front. Among those said to be heading our way in the next couple of months are Farsi celebs Arash, Arshin, Sepideh and Mehrshad at Dubai Media City Amphitheatre; and DJ Paul Oakenfield, Arrested Development, Billy Ocean, The Christians and Kasabian in February. Plus, the return of the Dubai Jazz Festival this year in Dubai Festival City will see the industry's biggies James Blunt, Jools Holland, Jason Mraz and James Morrison all performing over the course of one week. The '80s heart-throbs Duran Duran are also said to be playing at the 7he Sevens Stadium in March. (c) 2011 Al Nisr Media FZ LLC. All rights reserved. Provided by Syndigate.info an Albawaba.com company |