Experts warn new Dubai statistics law could affect transparency, property sector

8 years ago | Posted in: Laws | 782 Views

A new law that demands companies seek government approval before carrying out surveys in Dubai could damage the property sector and discourage research in the emirate, experts have warned.

The Dubai government announced a law late last month intended to help enable the Dubai Statistics Center “to establish an advanced statistics system”, according to a statement. But experts zoomed in on a provision in the new law that forbids private companies from “conducting any survey[s] without obtaining authorisation from the Dubai Statistics Center”.

The provisions “would strongly disincentivise many public and private sector organisations from conducting research, due to the additional time and bureaucracy that may be involved,” said Radhika Punshi, Dubai-based director of consulting at The Talent Enterprise, which studies Arabian Gulf labour markets.

The pre-approval requirement would be likely to undermine the credibility of any research done in Dubai, Ms Punshi said. People “may come to view government-sanctioned research with a pinch of salt”, she added.

“If Dubai wants to act on its vision of becoming an innovative, knowledge-based economy, then greater transparency, objectivity and openness to differing viewpoints in areas like education and human capital are crucial,” she said.

Not all research providers see the centralisation of statistics gathering as negative.

“Overall the announcement is very positive for companies like us which do provide reliable and professional data and information services, as there are lots of false and misdirecting information regarding real estate from companies who do have conflicted interests,” said Ahmet Kayhan, the chief executive of Reidin, a real estate information company. “We already work with lots of government agencies and will apply for a permission from Statistics Center as soon as possible.”

However, Coralie Pring, research coordinator for corruption surveys at Transparency International, which last December ranked the UAE as the most transparent Arab nation, said that the law’s provisions were likely to make it harder for the organisation to do research in the country.

“It may well happen that once prior approval is needed for research in Dubai, and if the topic is of a sensitive nature, the government may refuse to let surveys take place, in case it exposes results that may embarrass them,” Ms Pring said.

“Private survey firms may refuse to even consider running such surveys,” she said.

The property industry relies heavily on data provided by the private sector to determine capital values, rents and underlying demand.

Craig Plumb, head of research at the real estate firm JLL, which publishes quarterly reports on the Dubai real estate market, said that “any reduction in transparency in the Dubai property market is a bad thing, and is likely to put off foreign investors from investing”.

Mr Plumb said: “If we become caught up in a more bureaucratic process, where it takes longer to publish our findings, then these delays could be damaging to the property market.”.. see more

source: thenational.ae

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