Note: The post is a bit India Specific.

UAE is a buzzing country and has many world class upcoming cities. There are lot of money making opportunities in the country and lets say you made a lot of money. What now ? Money lying around ideal is basically a waste of money. This blog post i will try to highlight few of the possible instruments you should or should not invest in.

Firstly, the fixed deposits. The rate of interest in Dubai is shit as compared to India. Max to max you can get from a conventional bank in Dubai is around 4%. But critics justify the low rate of interest as a result of low rate of inflation. If you send the money back to India for a greater interest rate, you subject your self to other possible hazardous parameters like currency depreciation and Tax Deduction at Source.

Lets talk a bit about currency depreciation first. Indian currency over the period of time has gone in only direction and that is down. One dirham was once worth 6 rupees and now its worth 15 rupees. So you might make 10% on your capital as interest. The value of the Rupee goes down another 10% with respect to Dirham on a average on yearly basis . Plus, the buying power of your money goes down further 10% due to inflation back in India.

Tax Deduction at Source or TDS is another major stupid parameter. If your interest generated in one bank is more than 10,000 Rupees a good fraction of the interest will be cut as tax. So one needs to be vigilant to ensure that the interest generated is less than the threshold amount always. If you have big money, this could be a major pain.

You could invest in stocks in Dubai. But the stock market lacks volume and hardly a handful of counter have movement. The movement is so slow that its hard to even notice. The brokerages are huge and you need to buy in huge quantities to even make profits. The fundamentals of the market are not favorable for any investor. There is lack of transparency and I don’t really trust an Arab management. I am better of investing back in India or US if you ask me.

You could also invest in real estate in UAE. The terms are not favorable. The properties are located far away, maintenance fees are high and just too expensive. As far as I know, the prices are kind of capped now and chances of appreciation are slim. Because [lot of new properties should be completed in this year. I don’t really see end users for all those properties. There is a huge gap between demand and supply. Demand is less and supply is way more. So even real estate in Dubai is not a ideal location for your money.

So at the end of the day, I am of the opinion that if you don’t like taking risk keep your money in UAE. The currency is stable and not much inflation depreciation. But if you have a risk appetite, send your money elsewhere where you are confident of a double digit return.

UAE is a buzzing country located in the heart of the middle east. Its famous for its big buildings and tax free status. Lets talk a little more about the second aspect. We live in UAE, a country that doesn’t charge its citizen as well as expatriates any taxes or direct taxes if u say so.

Lets look into it a little more deeply. The whole expats can own property is a big Bullshit Facade. First of all its a lease of 99 years, Its expensive, no visa guarantee and high maintenance fees. So a normal expat cannot afford it, so they prefer to rent. Rents are usually high and serves as a indirect instrument of tax. It takes money out of your pocket and puts it in the hands of locals. The whole system is setup in such a way to benefit their own people. Isn’t this a lot like your income tax ?

Secondly, talk about government fees. Fees to do that and this in the Government sector is humongus. Getting a driving license can set you back around 5 grands. Starting a business you need well over 20-25 grands. Renewing a stupid license is around 200 AED. Visa fees are a couple of grands. This fees that fees. Its overpriced. I think the government fees alone would account for at least 2-5% of one’s annual income.

So if you add this number up you’ll soon notice that on a year on year basis you lose atleast around 15-20% of your income to these informal instrument of taxes. Ain’t I better off paying 30-40% taxes in the first world countries and also getting social and medical benefits ?

I have been in this country for all my life yet I am not a citizen. I’ll never be a citizen. I am strongly considering moving elsewhere. Somewhere, with good weather and good career opportunities. Somewhere where I’ll be treated equally. Lets see how that goes….

Like most of you know (If any… ), I am on a vacation. The first vacation in over 4 years. I did visit India 2 years back but the free time then was mainly used to get my Web Empire and business running. But this time its different….

Very much against my folk’s will, I was off to Goa in the first week. I had been to Goa once before. I had my friend pick me up from the station. He recently bought a place in Goa and hence we had our staying all figured out. One very hospitable family I must say. We drank and drank and drank and drank and drank…. ( I think you get the point… ) . The only time I remember drinking water is while taking my medicines. Fuck, Goa was fun !

I did take this opportunity to go see my ‘ex’ who lives in Banglore, which is 11 hours by road from Goa. What I thought would be a happy Reunion turned into a very complex give and take of emotional drama and BS. No regrets. I also met a series of old friends and their hot cousins. The city is pretty decent with a ideal weather. The trip was worth it at the end.

I was also taken Gujrat for some property matters. Our first stop was ‘Valsad’ which is a small town close to Mumbai in Gujrat. Its funny how urbanization has lead to rapid economic growth. People have a lot of money and property prices are booming even in this small town. Then we headed ‘Surat’ which can be called the informal financial capital of Gujrat. The place is booming. People have made a lot of money in a very short span of time. The thing about people from Surat are they are very aggressive when it comes to business and all game when it comes to have fun. I also headed to Damman which is like Goa of Gujrat, all the people from Gujrat go to Damman to drink because Gujrat is a dry state.  It a lot like Goa but with a lot of Gujjus and only Indian Alcohol. Not bad.

I did learn one thing during the trip, money alone can not make you happy. The people around you also play a important role. Spending the money on or with the people you care about is much more fulfilling. When you have people who are there with you just for your company and want nothing in return, keep them close ! These are the most valuable assets you will have!

I’d also be blogging much more often ( Like I always Promise…) and will be starting a new section on the site called ‘Words Of Wisdom’. I’ll also make a point to stop ranting and talk more about Dubai 😀

To Good Life

Cheers 😀

I remember when locals used to quote out of their ass for rents. It wasn’t long before the times changed. Buildings are literally empty and their revenue is taking a major hit. Land Lords are desperate for tenants and tenants have a ton to chose from. The rents for premium properties have taken a major beating in the emirates.

People have identified the opportunity and are trading their place for a better/bigger place for the same rent or slightly more. Landlords are using various techniques to lure and please the tenants. Free AC, Free parking, Free maintenance and you name it.

Me and my family too shifted last month to a bigger place. I still miss the old house. I was in there for over 20 years. That place is always going to stay close to my heart.

I’ve lately been facing some time management problems. I have not really been as productive as I would like to be. Like you people know, I run a bunch of websites and go to a engineering college. College is demanding and thus I am not really able to focus much on my side business. Things were going decent as I could normally make up for the lost time during the vacation.

But lately, I have noticed something. My revenues have been very range bound. I was recording 10% month on month growth during the early months of 2011. I know that is a unrealistic growth rate and it was always going to be hard to maintain. Currently, things are looking bleak. Revenue has been falling at close to that rate.

I have been looking into causes of the decline. There were many. Google’s Panda update lead to 150$ in lesser revenue every month. Filesonic going down caused a loss of another 500$ every month.  That is like 650 $ rite there. I have another site which is very dynamic in the  SERPS, so you never know how much it makes.

To combat this volatility and decline, I decided to pay much more attention to core of my business and try out things which I didn’t before. Lets talk about the core first, I’ll be paying greater attention to assets which I already have and take it to the next level and regarding the later, I’ll be making new sites every month and expanding my networks. I have also been looking into verticals like local marketing. My preliminary calculations suggest that it could be feasible and there is decent money to be made. But before I could start raking in clients, I need to have a decent portfolio to convince them which I’ll be working over the period of time on.

At the end of the day, I think its going to be a steep climb. Lets see if I can really implement all what I’ve planned.