After a 30% crash in Dubai's real estate market, is it panic or greed? Exclusive interview with Xu Ying, Executive Chairman of Weishi Asset Management | Ou Lu Zhi

Stock trading is all about reading research reports from Golden Qilin’s analysts—authoritative, professional, timely, and comprehensive—helping you uncover high-potential themes and opportunities!

By | “Euro North Gazette” section, Hao Qian, reporting from Geneva, Switzerland

Back when last week hit its lowest point, Dubai’s real-estate stock index fell by nearly 30%, and only then did it slowly stabilize. However, for many Dubai investors, they’re still deeply concerned about the outlook ahead. One Chinese entrepreneur in Dubai privately told people that, as an investor, his first and foremost feeling is: “a loss of sense of security.”

This is just a small example. In such a complex and intertwined situation, what should investors know when reexamining the advantages of Gulf countries?

“Euro North Gazette” spoke with Xu Ying, Executive Chairman of Visi Asset Management, and a co-founder of the “Super Bridge” council. As a Middle East investment expert, Xu Ying believes that the more highly uncertain the situation is, the more important it is to see clearly the underlying logic—what truly remains high-certainty amid change—then make your layout accordingly.

Therefore, Xu Ying believes that the Middle East conflict can be viewed in a dialectical way using reverse thinking. Over the past five or six years, the world’s pressure tests have kept coming—starting with the Russia-Ukraine conflict, then Israel and Gaza, and more recently Israel and Iran. What everyone needs to consider is: which countries have the ability, under each pressure test, to keep society, the economy, and the financial order running—and to achieve stable everyday life?

When asked about her personal feelings regarding this Middle East conflict, Xu Ying frankly said: “Based on past experience, the UAE has always handled geopolitical balancing and mediation very well. In this conflict as well, it has shown the strength of local military defenses, and the solid financial resources behind them. Although the situation is tense and the winds are high, during the process of life continuing to operate, there has been no interruption to material supplies, no panic in society, and the entire social system has been functioning well. Business activities and financial activities have not broken.”

Xu Ying believes these are the bright sides that should be noticed under pressure tests. And from a short-term perspective, they’re also the most fair assessment: “After all, based on the real situation on the ground right now, many residents feel that everything is normal. In the short term, companies’ operations have not suffered any substantive impact.”

How does the Middle East build global influence?

More than 15 years ago, as a fund manager in China, Xu Ying managed investments in Chinese stocks for an UAE sovereign fund, and she has had a strong connection to the Middle East market. She believes that over the past decade or more, the Middle East’s role in geopolitics has undergone tremendous change. In the past, the Middle East had very little say in geopolitics, trade patterns, and financial infrastructure. When it came to investment opportunities for global major economies, it largely played the role of a follower in making financial investments as well.

Xu Ying analyzed that the key changes in the Middle East’s international position mainly came from doing four things: establishing a technology barrier alliance; seeking a coalition of key resources; seeking control over the financial circulation system in terms of financial institutions and financial infrastructure; and using geographical advantages to shape trade rules.

In the technology alliance, the Middle East mainly participated through large-scale sovereign funds, deeply investing in technology companies, and thereby entering the Western core system through the barriers of the technology alliance. This enables Middle East countries, despite not having their own R&D strength (from basic sciences to applied sciences), to gain R&D influence through deep investments. They set up massive funds and invest in technology companies that have technology barriers.

Second, to build alliances for key resources, they leveraged the circulation system of petrodollars—cheap oil and gas resources—to enable the transition from new energy and photonic resources to mobile electricity. Converting petrochemical strengths into electricity strengths is the key asset needed to control the future AI infrastructure.

Third is the financial system. In these wealthy Middle Eastern countries—especially the UAE and Saudi Arabia—they embrace the on-chain financial system by adopting digital financial innovation. Xu Ying predicts that in the future digital finance sector, the UAE may achieve an important position as a financial center. In the future, the “digital finance capital of the world” may be Abu Dhabi.

Finally, it’s trade relationships. Gulf countries have already led the way in connecting to Southeast Asian markets. In addition, there are also trade connections with future economic incremental-growth powers. For example, large-population countries in Africa—Egypt, Nigeria, Morocco, South Africa—as well as India and Pakistan in South Asia.

“Those pillars haven’t changed. Even under geopolitical fluctuations and threats, those elements haven’t changed either. This is the foundation and the opportunity. After that depends on the company’s nature—resource-based, finance-focused, trade-oriented, or technology companies with high talent density. Opportunities can all be found within these four pillar areas. These opportunities haven’t disappeared.” Xu Ying told “Euro North Gazette.”

Geographical advantages: accessing other markets

“If you want to do business with Indians, and you want to do business with Africans, you can talk about it in Dubai. Here, it’s like a hub that connects East-West trade and North-South trade.” Xu Ying said, “The UAE’s underlying driving force for doing financial business is Africa and Asia’s growth in the real economy. Because without the real economy, the financial industry can’t congregate.”

Xu Ying shared an example of an Indian auto parts company with “Euro North Gazette.” India is benefiting from strong demand from the middle class among urban residents for automobiles. In addition, their economy and their deep link with Europe and the United States means that exports are aimed at Europe and the United States. Many people don’t realize that a lot of their incremental production capacity is in Middle Eastern countries like the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

For example, China’s new-energy vehicle development is moving fast—some automakers have already started producing and assembling in the UAE, making it easier to connect with European markets.

In Xu Ying’s view, in the past, within our recognition framework, we always paid more attention to growth opportunities in Europe, America, and the West. But now, growth opportunities in Islamic Asia and Africa are also not to be underestimated. For example, Egypt has 116 million people—this population base brings huge opportunities for investment and development. India’s real estate market restart needs large-scale construction materials. For them, the steel-structure manufacturing industry is still a sunrise industry. An Indian steel company’s 30% gross margin—if it cooperates with companies in the Middle East and locally—can enter India’s infrastructure market. Over the next 10 years, this place could build the most airports.

“Logistics facilities, structural sections, building materials, industrial components—these mature industries still see increasing demand in many emerging markets, which makes them profitable. The UAE’s export influence is very strong—for Middle East, South Asia’s Islamic partner countries, and even for resource-rich countries in Africa.”

Xu Ying analyzed that the UAE is an export-oriented economy. The UAE’s export department is a specialized department that comes out of the economic sector. They mainly build their advantages through institutional strength and IP intellectual property law.

“UAE exports are carried out through investment portfolio companies under sovereign funds. Through large controlled global industrial groups, they conduct global exports. That means after acquiring advanced technology, the factories may be located in Egypt, Morocco, Malaysia, Indonesia, and so on. But by investing in productive facilities, it forms production capability that can be used for re-export from the UAE.”

What industries does the Middle East have?

“Saying that the Middle East can’t develop industry is an ingrained misconception. Some ecosystems are extremely complex—like semiconductors. They require fine-grained management, and the industry division-of-labor ecosystem can’t all be moved there. But industries with short production chains and simple raw materials can also be developed in other regions.”

“The UAE’s industrial system centers on oil and gas. The business formats of chemical industry and heavy industry (materials, cement), and so on—these were the industrial formats we developed over the past two or three decades, and they differ across generations from the mainstream of our current industrial formats. But if you look at it objectively through historical materialism, right now in Africa and Central Asia, as well as emerging economies in Southeast Asia, they still strongly need these business formats.”

Xu Ying explained, “From the perspective of energy supply, Dubai’s photovoltaic park construction was done by China. Dubai’s cost of photovoltaic power generation has reached the global cheapest-tier lineup.”

“Indian manufacturing enterprises are also not small in scale locally. They have production workshops in the UAE. Although automation levels for auto parts aren’t that high, factory operations are no different from the factories in Dongguan from 20 years ago. By introducing European and Japanese management models, the level and granularity of management are not inferior to what our manufacturing enterprises had over the past 20 years.”

In terms of factory efficiency, Xu Ying believes that constrained by the local environment, working hours will be slightly lower. But when looking at total costs, they remain competitive.

“Building a factory isn’t just about planning, and it’s not just about production efficiency itself. One very large cost is the hidden cost of market access. If the markets you connect with are high-growth and demand-rich regions, you’ll get good prices and profits. For example, the Middle East has a major relative advantage over Europe and the U.S. in average tariffs.” Xu Ying said.

At the same time, for community economics, living services, and e-commerce that affect people’s livelihoods, these formats also exist in the UAE.

“Because the UAE has a supply of low-cost labor from Africa and the Indian subcontinent and Pakistan. Locally, for low- to middle-end labor and workers with junior- to mid-level skills, costs are very cheap. And there is a large-scale supply as well. It’s also close geographically. Even though the population scale isn’t big enough, takeout delivery, one-hour delivery, and half-hour delivery all exist locally. Overall costs can also be controlled relatively.”

Xu Ying told “Euro North Gazette” frankly that each region’s industrial development formats are at different stages. Sometimes, if you change your perspective, you might have a different understanding—there is no absolute distinction of “backward” versus “advanced.”

		Sina Statement: This message is reprinted from a Sina partner media outlet. Sina.com publishes this article for the purpose of disseminating more information, and does not necessarily mean it agrees with the viewpoints or verifies the descriptions. The content is for reference only and does not constitute investment advice. Investors act at their own risk.

Massive information and precise interpretation—find it all in the Sina Finance app

Responsible editor: Song Ya fang