Welcome to FinTech TV.
I'm Johnny Fernandez, and while headlines focus on the conflict, money is still moving in Abu Dhabi and in the Middle East.
Now here to break down how Abu Dhabi's economy is staying strong is Jaspreet Randhawa, the Head of Investments and CIO for Burkhan World Investments, a global investment firm headed in the UAE.
So to start off, you're an American working.
And living in Abu Dhabi, one of the most turbulent moments the region has seen in years.
Personally, has this moment changed how you see the region and what are you hearing from Americans and investors?
And is this shifting their view?
Absolutely.
First of all, um, uh good evening from Abu Dhabi, and thank you for having me here.
And, uh, yeah, this is a question almost everyone is asking that what has changed there?
How do you see Abu Dhabi?
And uh honestly, when I look at what's happened here in the last little while, it's, what's staying with me is not the presence of tension, but the absence of disorder.
The way Abu Dhabi has handled this crisis is absolutely incredible, and obviously it's not something that uh that just happened, it's something that they had prepared for a very, very long time, and I think that's where the leadership has played a tremendous role in terms of investments.
Everything is absolutely status quo.
International headlines are painting the entire region as unstable and too risky.
So someone on the ground like yourself, what is the response to that?
And from an investment standpoint, are people pausing, or are some actually seeing this as a buying opportunity?
Yeah, there is a tendency, particularly from afar, to conflate geography with condition, but being here makes one thing very clear.
Abu Dhabi is not defined by the volatility around it.
It is distinguished by its ability to remain unaffected by it and absolutely mean it.
The system did not fracture under pressure, and the rhythm of life did not falter.
And that reveals something fundamental not only in terms of life in Abu Dhabi, but even the investment climate and the business in Abu Dhabi.
Stability is not a matter of location.
It is a function of design.
And what you see here is not the absence of external tension, it is a presence of internal strength, and that has made sure that Abu Dhabi, which that actually called the capital of capital, remains the capital of capital.
And in the last little while when headlines are painting that it's not stable here and money's leaving the country and everyone's leaving, it's actually the opposite.
Uh, we are based in ADGM, which is Abu Dhabi Global Markets, and in the last little while I've seen more family offices move in.
I've seen brand new funds moving in.
People want to form funds.
There's a massive pipeline in ADGM to do it.
So, no, unfortunately though, uh, it's from far away.
It's, it's very easy to just see some headlines and think and feel things are falling apart here.
It's actually the complete opposite.
So let's talk about business owners on the ground.
How are they navigating this moment?
Are they holding steady, expanding, or pulling back?
I would say they're expanding, either either holding steady or expanding, depending on the kind of business you're in, but there's nothing, I mean, if I, if I describe the life here, everything is calm, everything is stable.
There are moments when there is a siren.
Well, at the moment we're in a ceasefire, but we would get an alert that there's something incoming, a missile or a drone with payload.
Then it was neutralized or in this case intercepted and then life went on as normal.
So it's, you know, it's only at that time when we got the message that we would think of the broader regional context, but without that, you wouldn't even know that something is happening very close to us.
And what's really far more telling is the composure and the continuity, a seamless return to normal life right after those alerts, and that is a defining characteristic, not just for living here, but even for if, if you're doing any kind of business, you want that stability.
It's absolutely normal.
And to me, you know, true resilience of any place, whether you're living here or you're working here or you have, you're launching a business here.
It's not measured by how forcefully a system responds, but how effortlessly it restores equilibrium.
And here, equilibrium is not fought for, it is maintained, and I think that's what makes Abu Dhabi such a special place.
And for investors and business partners and frankly anyone watching abroad who may be concerned, what do you want them to know about Abu Dhabi right now?
Well, firstly I would say don't be concerned.
I can understand when you see things from far away and you see the headlines and you see some videos and pictures, it can be alarming.
I totally understand that, but uh the region is not unstable, and I'm a living example and almost everyone I know here did not leave.
So it's, for me, nothing has changed.
If anything, it has.
Refined what I always thought of Abu Dhabi.
I moved here 2.5 years ago from New York, and I moved here.
One of the big reasons was because Abu Dhabi is known as a very safe place and it's maintained it.
The moments of strain have a way of revealing the true character of a place, and Abu Dhabi has done an absolute stellar job because what they've revealed here is composure, deep structural composure.
And there is literally no sense of improvisation, no visible strain on the system.
Instead, there is a quiet, almost understated confidence that everything is proceeding as it should.
It's almost like, I almost want to say that Abu Dhabi is not a city that responds to pressure.
It's a city that was built with pressure in mind because everything was absolutely smooth.
I didn't see anything closing, any businesses closing.
Our life has just been absolutely normal.
That's great to hear.
Jaspreet Randawa, thank you so much for joining us today and taking time out of your busy schedule to join us here on FinTech TV.
Thank you.
