BUY Viagra ONLINE NO PRESCRIPTION

Financial Times, UK January 26, 2010 Robert Wright There is no obvious connection at first glance between the grubby, low-rise streets of Djibouti City, capital of the east African state of Djibouti, and the spectacular modern high-rise landscape of Dubai . However, a brief examination of most of the prominent businesses in the tiny state reveals its heavy dependence on investment from the once-rich, now-struggling emirate in its port, logistics and tourism sectors. The country is the most fully developed example of a strategy pursued by Dubai World, Dubai's government-controlled investment vehicle, to boost trade in a series of developing countries and capture some benefits for Dubai's businesses. Dubai World's port operator, DP World, operates Djibouti's ports and airports. Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Jafza) runs a free-trade zone near a new container port . Dubai World's customs operation runs Djibouti customs and Nakheel, its property arm, has built a luxury hotel. The joint investments were intended to have a transformational effect on Djibouti's economy, generating far greater gains than similar, individual investments. A similar strategy is being followed in Senegal and could follow elsewhere. The strength of DP World in such fast-growing emerging markets was a key factor in its announcement yesterday that it had seen a less dramatic decline in container handling in 2009 than average for the industry. DP World's volumes fell only 8 per cent for the year, against 12 per cent for the industry as a whole. The problems of the wider Dubai World group, which in November announced it planned to renegotiate $22bn of debts, mean that Djibouti is likely to continue to be unusual in some respects. Nakheel, part of the restructuring, is unlikely to invest in a hotel as spectacular as the Djibouti Palace Kempinski in the foreseeable future. However, the rapid growth on offer means the key, healthy parts of the group are likely to remain interested in joint investments elsewhere in the developing world. Mohammed Sharaf, chief executive of DP World, says the key element of the investment mix in Djibouti has been the pairing of the new port facility with a customs-free trading zone operated by Jafza. Inside the freezone - modelled on the highly successful Jebel Ali Freezone in Dubai - investors can assemble goods and prepare them for distribution without having to clear Djibouti's customs. The concept should work well in other countries burdened with cumbersome customs procedures, Mr Sharaf says. "Djibouti is an example for African countries." Salma Ali Saif Bin Hareb, chief executive of Jafza, says her company is still in talks with Senegal's government about developing a freezone next to DP World's new port there. In Djibouti, it is expanding the office space available in its existing freezone. "I don't see any effect on Djibouti," she says of Dubai World's problems. Yet, while Dubai World's healthiest subsidiaries shrug off the effects of their parents' debts for their efforts to make large, coordinated investments, future investments will face other problems. Since worldwide container volumes fell sharply last year, few countries face the acute port congestion that made many turn to international port operators in the mid-2000s to develop new ports, Mr Sharaf points out. The other investments generally depended on the ports. Declining trade has exacerbated the problems of raising finance for new projects, according to Mr Sharaf. Some future projects will be good enough to justify similar large-scale investment to that undertaken in the past - but very few. "We're going to continue being more selective," Mr Sharaf says. "We're going to continue to dig deep into any projects we consider."