No end in sight for UAE growth

With its well-established status as the Middle East's principal financial center, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) continues to impress global businesses.

Although the discovery of oil and natural gas in the late 1960s guaranteed long-term prosperity, the UAE swiftly surpassed its neighbors in economic growth due to the foresight and progressive policies of the late Sheikh Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the federation's first leader.

As foreign investment and oil revenue began pouring in during the 1970s, the UAE invested its new-found wealth in infrastructure, consequently creating a boom in the construction and property development industries.