An increasing number of small and medium sized company owners are quietly leaving Dubai to avoid punishment for defaulting on loans.
According to Abdul Aziz Al Ghunair, Chief Executive Officer of Mashreqbank PSC and Chairman of the UAE Banks Feseration, SME business owners by the end of 2015 would have left behind $1.36 billion of bad loans.
This phenomenon is not new to the Dubai business space. In 2009, thousands of expatriates fled the country to avoid punishment for loan defaults.
The 2015 crisis can be linked to the fall in oil prices and liquidity conditions are expected to worsen as rates have risen to their highest levels since July 2013.
It is not expected that these skips will affect the larger economy.
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