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Atlantis official opening party 

The glass doors to one of Dubai's most exclusive, expensive clubs are now open to the public.

The Clubhouse of the Dubai Marina Yacht Club is the central focal point of the emirate's Marina, and while it has many members-only facilities, such as a luxury cigar lounge and well-stocked library, it also boasts two high-end restaurants, extensive conference facilities and a water taxi service to the Marina Mall – all of which are available to the public.

Steve Stiglbauer, general manager at DMYC, says the Club was only too aware of the need to cater to both members and non-members.

"Everywhere in the world you try and balance member facilities with public access," says Stiglbauer, a broad-shouldered American who has worked in the marine industry for the past 30 years.

"Here I think we have the best of both worlds as we have the Yacht Club and its facilities for members and also the mall and restaurants that anybody can use."

The restaurants will undoubtedly attract the public. Inside the Clubhouse's elegant entrance, through the plush lobby and down the wooden staircase sits the curiously named "25˚55˚".

Split into two, it is part high-end restaurant, part sailing shop. "The name 25˚55˚ is kind of to provoke the question: 'What does that mean?'" says Stiglbauer when asked exactly that. "The name is actually the latitude and longitude of Dubai."

From the restaurant – regardless of whether you opt for cool conditioned internal dining or eating al fresco – the views of the marina are unrivalled: Boats sail past setting off on voyages into the Arabian Gulf, yachts gleam in the sun and the calm soothing canal laps gently at the docking berths.

The Clubhouse, which is part of Emaar's Dh4.36 billion Marina project and opened its doors quietly late last month, already has 300 members – each of whom have paid at least the prerequisite Dh48,000 fees – and is set to welcome a further 75 within the next six months.

The Yacht Club joins the likes of the Dubai Offshore Sailing Club (DOSC) and Dubai International Marine Centre (DIMC) as city-based sailing societies, but Stiglbauer insists the three are not competing against each other.

"Right now, there is not an overwhelming number of marine facilities in Dubai, so the more the better because it helps create an infrastructure," he says. "We have an outstanding location and so we don't see it as competitors taking away business. Competitors, to me, add more places where our members can go and do things with their boats.

"That's what needs to develop: More destinations and more things for people to do with their yachts.

"That will be the defining thing as Dubai matures into a real marine market. You have got to have a support structure, with repair facilities and fuelling facilities and places where people can take their boat to for dinner at night; restaurants that are on the water."

With DIMC hosting the annual Maktoum Cup and DOSC hosting this weekend's Beneteau Cup, Stiglbauer knows he needs to attract spectator events, and has already signed up for a Dragonboat festival in January, as well as proposing plans for a fishing competition.

"I come from a very rich marine industry area and I know about all kinds of things that go along with a fully developed yachting industry," says Stiglbauer, who previously held senior management roles at Harbortown Marina, Hyatt Regency Pier 66 and Miami Beach Marina in South Florida.

"I know the sort of things to do, but it's a bit more challenging here because a lot of these people are getting into boating for the first time.

"In Dubai you have marinas, but you don't necessarily have the deep infrastructure you have in a developed boating area like South Florida."

That looks set to change as the Marina gears up to open another three docking piers within the next six months.

By May the wooden-framed Clubhouse will be complemented by four separate marinas dotted along the Marina Canal, and Stiglbauer says he suspects artificial reefs will be put in place to attract more marine life.

He adds: "For me, this will be one of the best marinas in the world because there is going to be so much activity going on. We have a mosque, which is going to be the centre of one marina and the shopping mall and Gourmet Tower [a four-tier development consisting of a quad of opulent restaurants] will be at the centre of another. "

Dubai reveals debt levels to dispel fears over growth

Dubai for the first time revealed the level of debt it has racked up during one of the biggest building sprees the world has ever seen.  

 

According to one of Dubai's top property bosses, the emirate has $80bn (£54bn) of debt outstanding against a total asset base of $1.3 trillion.

The numbers were revealed as part of a series of speeches by Dubai's leaders who sought to confirm the emirate's claim to power in world finance and dispel rumours that its growth is stalling.

His Excellency Mohamed Ali Alabbar, chief executive of Emaar Properties and a member of Dubai's excutive council, said the figures were being revealed to end "international speculation" that the country is buckling under its leverage.

Speaking at the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Week, Mr Alabbar said: "I can state categorically the government can and will meet all of its obligations going forward and I have no doubt about this country's future.

"And if and when a crisis arises in one of our afflilated companies, will the government help? Yes we will."

Attacking the rumours head on, Mr Alabbar said: "There has been confusion and concern about how much Dubai owes and how its debt will be financed. Concern leads to speculation. So I can say that Dubai's current sovereign debt is $10bn or 37bn UAE Dirhams (AED). Our key sovereign assets at their current level of undervaluation stand at $90bn or AED350bn.

"This does not include our aiports, our bridges, our metro system or our healthcare. The total debt obligation of the government's affiliated companies is $70bn or AED256bn. This is compared to the total asset value of the affiliated companies of $260bn or AED950bn."

He added: "When we started the work in 1992, the Council was hit by rumours. We ran from them and we have been running from constant rumours for 18 years. Still there are rumours that we're selling our property assets or selling 50pc of Emirates airline. I can categorically state this is not true."

However he did admit: "Dubai's growth has been at a rate of 13pc to 14pc a year. If this comes down to 6pc or 7pc or 8pc then fine. We've been running a long time and could probably do with a breather. We will use this time to learn lessons and become a stronger city."

The conference, the public sessions of which started today and has attracted hundred of top business bosses from around the world, was opened this morning by the head of the DIFC, His Excellency Omar Bin Sulaiman. The conference's title, "Where money meets opportunity", has been given a more sober sub-heading of "Sustaining our oasis of prosperity in a turbulent world".

The DIFC owns the emirate's financial assets such as its stock exchange, Mr Bin Sulaiman said: "DIFC Week takes place at a critical juncture for the global economy. Many see in the turmoil of global markets a crisis of epochal proportions. Yet the financial shock waves rumbling around the world could be the first birth pangs of a new economic reality... Until recently capital typically moved from the developed world to developing economies. This dynamic is now changing. New financial centres [like the GCC region] complement, if not rival, the role played by established centres like London and New York."

Other speakers at the conference admitted the Middle East had under-estimated the global financial crisis. His Excellency Bassem Awadallah, former director of the office of King Abdullah of Jordan, said: "This part of the world has been slow to recognise what's been going on global in financial markets"

Mr Alabbar said: "Today the world's faith in the future is being tested. While we recognise with humility the many challenges that lie ahead, I can assure you we will spare no effort to secure our future.

"As His Highness [Dubai's ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum] said recently: Dubai's direction is straight and forward."