Dyala Sabbagh
Series Presenter

World Economic Forum, Energy, SWFs & Privatisation

June 2008

Peter Barker-Homek, CEO of The Abu Dhabi National Energy Company, or Taqa tells Simon Hobbs about the company's rapid international expansion plans and why he thinks transparency is essential for Sovereign Wealth Funds.

Plus, the high cost of oil dominates talks at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East, we look at what regional economies are doing to diversify away from oil.

And, sky-high oil prices means sky-high problems for the world's airlines… but Middle Eastern carriers are still managing to bank some profits. We focus on one local carrier.

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Producer's Notes

Episode 8 takes us on a journey to Dubai, Egypt, Jordan & Ghana.
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VAT in the UAE - The words might rhyme, but it may not be music to the ears of residents

Since its establishment in December 1971, the UAE has prided itself as one the world's tax havens…a reputation which some now question in light of the planned introduction of VAT next year.

Dubai Customs recently announced that the UAE was planning to introduce Value Added Tax as early as January 2009.

The tax under consideration, will be imposed on consumer goods and services, and would probably be set at 3%, towards the lower end of the 2-5% scale commonly quoted by officials. Even if the VAT is set closer to 5% by the Federal Government, its introduction will be offset by the cancellation of the current 5% Customs Duties.

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