Would you change someone's religion or beliefs in order to make money off them?
What would happen if they, in turn, were conning you? Who's the fool?
For those of us who know some of the basics of Islamic beliefs regarding interest and banking, it was no surprise that the government of Dubai racked up debts in the corporation it started, and then tried to wash their hands of that debt. Some say it's as high as 120 billion bucks.
Before I realised what was going on, I had seen them build some stuff which made my jaw drop. Islands shaped like the globe (below), as a housing development, another island project that looked like a palm (below). The biggest hotel in the world (below). A Formula one race, which is not a cheap venture, even before you pay off Bernie Ecclestone.
So, I figured, in my rose-coloured glasses Western view of the world thought that they had oil money otherwise they wouldn't have done it, or been allowed to do it. Actually, they don't. Other parts of the UAE do, but not Dubai.
who would lend a corporation 120 billion?
Here's where the con job comes in. Perfectly sensible banks, whatever that means in the age of derivatives, were throwing billions at a corporation in the expectation/assumption that, if everything went tits-up, the Dubai government or the Abu Dhabi oil money would pay off the debts. Now, what do we know about 'assumptions'? Well, they were mostly wrong about the Oily backers. Until recently, Dubai was ducking and weaving, and shuttling back and forth to the Oily Kings, until finally Abu Dhabi gave them what amounts to, for them, an elasticated roll of cash, 10 billion.
Can you imagine those banks, like the usual, suspect British suspect banks, trying to seize assets IN DUBAI! No chance of that. The Dubai corporation does have assets in the West, like airlines, which can be seized. Let's see how this plays out.
[pic-building for sail, cheap]
[pic- fan me, I'm broke]
[pic- the world of debt]
[pic- non-Muslim hotel guest]
