Alabbar sees situation getting better in 9 to 12 months

Dubai - Shopping malls, restaurants are doing relatively well, says Mohamed Alabbar, founder of Emaar Properties and e-commerce platform noon.com

Mohamed Alabbar, founder of Emaar Properties and e-commerce platform noon.com, hopes that the economic situation will be better in the next nine to 12 months as the world anxiously waits for the Covid-19 vaccine.

“I believe life will go back to normal and we are not going to have big damage to shopping malls. There is damage to malls in America because there is an overbuilt situation… I truly believe that we will conquer this virus and bounce back,” Alabbar said during a panel discussion hosted by Bloomberg on Tuesday evening.

Keisha Lance Bottoms, mayor of Atlanta, and Xin Zhang, co-founder and CEO of Soho China, also took part in the panel discussion on how to reboot cities post pandemic.

“Shopping malls and restaurants are doing relatively well. But some sectors are not doing well, tourism and travel is suffering a lot,” he said.

Alabbar praised the UAE’s approach in handling the coronavirus by opening up the country and at the same time tripled the Covid-19 tests to contain the pandemic.

He stated that the virus is an attack on humanity and its impact is devastating, making the poor even poorer.

“The poor are losing jobs while the stock market is rocketing… This is something that hits me in the face. Effects on the lower and mid income are catastrophic and that really worries me as a businessman… because I survive with society,” he said during the panel discussion.

He also stressed the importance of ensuring good education in the region to ensure talent retention.

Alabbar also appointed out that good job opportunities, safety, healthcare, better quality of life, infrastructure and good education are critical for the region and all those factors play key role in attracting people across the region to Dubai.

“You need all of the above for cities to prosper… healthcare is only one side of it.”

waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com