Dubai's hopes of becoming a world financial centre are proving to be nothing more than an Ozymandian dream. Yesterday's unexpected decision by Dubai World, the Gulf emirate's largest state-owned conglomerate, to impose a six-month debt standstill has foreign creditors up in arms. Earlier this month, Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum publicly pledged his support for the group and its obligations. Investors, perhaps foolishly, took him at his word.
杜拜成爲世界金融中心的希望,現在看來不過是一場黃粱美夢。昨天,這個海灣酋長國最大的國有企業集團杜拜世界(Dubai World)宣佈,將推遲6個月償還債務。這一出人意料的決定令外國債權人大爲惱火。本月早些時候,杜拜統治者謝赫穆罕默德·本·拉希德·阿勒馬克圖姆(Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum)曾公開承諾,將對該集團及其債務提供支持。也許有些愚蠢的是,投資者對他的話信以爲真。