PMV Live Roundtable Pt. 2: The UAE is back
The UAE market has returned to the position of the number one market in the GCC
CMME previews the PMV Live event in Dubai
With the start of PMV Live around the corner, CMME presents it coverage of the special PMV Live Roundtable that took place in October.
Taking part of a lively discussion was: Putzmeister’s regional director Jens Bawidamann Martin Kirby, managing director, Wolffkran Arabia; Talal Al Mahroos, marketing manager, M H Al Mahroos (brands include: Putzmeister, Genie, Karcher, Yanmar); Abdul Qader Mohamed Al Ali, president, Al Wasit Machinery (brands include: Hyundai, Sumitomo); Nabil Al Zahlawi, managing partner, NFT Cranes (Potain, Orbit); and Nathan Waugh, event director, PMV Live.
Much of the ralk around the table is whether the UAE market is recovering as is being suggested from a raft of reports in the second half of 2013.
“I think so,” says Kirby. “I’ve been in the UAE for 11 years and I’ve always been a firm believer of the fundamentals we have here. For me it was always going to come back. Where it is coming back, frightens me a little bit: how it has come back so fast and so high. What’s going on the real estate market concerns me.
“Everybody was looking at Abu Dhabi – that was going to be taking up the slack. A lot of people went running there to set-up head offices. I’m glad that we didn’t – we opened new offices in Dubai in that period and it was the right decision. There are some big mega projects (in Abu Dhabi) and a lot of that has been taken up by one contractor.”
He continues: “We’ve had a good 2013 in terms of utilisation and I’m hopeful that it’ll pick up with a lot more smaller jobs. We can’t just rely on mega projects. I think that 2014 is going to be good. There’s enough to go around for everybody.”
“We have seen the bottom, right?” adds Bawidamann. “At Putzmeister during the good times of 2006, 2007, 2008 we saw more than 100 trucks per year. It went down from 100 to one. So when we now talk about improvement in the market, we’re talking about seven or eight. Maybe this is reasonable. What is happening here is a few things have changed. A few projects that were on hold are now working. You can see pumps and cranes working. But then at the same time rents are up by 30%. Why?”
This month’s PMV Live and The Big-5 will be a litmus test of the strength of the market and Waugh says that the show has seen the return of strong local support.
“Seven weeks from this year’s event we were practically sold out,” he remarks. “We obviously talk to a lot of exhibitors during the course of the year. My feeling is we’ve seen a change from cautious optimism last year to genuine optimism this year.”
“If Dubai gets the World Expo, they will start right away. I tell you what will happen. Dubai will get the World Expo and from November onwards Qatar will not have any aggregates anymore,” Bawidamann declares. “They all come from Fujairah and Ras Al Khaimah.”
“And Saudi will not allow any exports,” Al Ali emphasises.
The winner of the World Expo in 2020 will be announced later this month. The panel agrees that awarding it to the country and host city Dubai could be a game changer for the market in 2014.
“During the peak time, there was something about Dubai everyday – Burj Khalifa, the world’s most expensive hotel, Atlantis. Then there was the crisis. I think for Dubai it is a chance to say, hey, we’re here, the dream is still alive and we will do it better.”
“We need it,” agrees Al Zahlawi.
“One thing about Dubai for me, is that I’m proud to call it home,” says Kirby. “And I hope with this real estate boom is that the fundamentals have changed. I hope people want to invest here and live here because it is a great place to live.”
Bawidamann concludes: “Look around everywhere is in crisis. Everyone is looking for a place that is safe, that has a hospital, that has schools, where you can do business. That is Dubai.”
Stayed tune for more from the PMV Live Roundtable as CMME will continues to preview this month’s big event later this month. Up next Rental vs Purchasing.
