While Western nations have been spending hundreds of billions of dollars, euros and pounds on bailing out the financial system, Dubai has appeared to follow a take-it-or-leave-it option with its financiers.

That is the view of Insead Professor of Entrepreneurship and Family Enterprise Stephen Mezias at the international business school's Abu Dhabi campus.

'Instead of being hounded by creditors and haunted by the looming threat of forced bankruptcy, those that owe billions in Dubai are being chased by investment bankers who want to help sell assets and restructure payments,' he said.

'Contrasting the restructuring of the debt of Dubai with bank and national bailouts in the West offers some interesting observations.

'State actors in the West, despite being reputed to be powerful players on the world financial scene, acceded to the demands of the banks and financiers.

'Despite having made the mess, the financial executives were able to dictate the terms of the clean-up.

'After receiving billions from the AIG bailout, Goldman Sachs made a big show of using a tiny portion of this cash to repay government loans they had received at the height of the crisis.

'Then they proceeded to pay generous bonuses to the very executives who had contributed to the crisis,' he said.

'It seems that being able to ensure that the government covers your losses is an important part of effective managerial performance in the capitalist, democratic US,' he added.

'Throughout Europe and North America, few high level executives lost their jobs despite occupying important roles in creating the global financial crisis that contributed to the situation in Dubai and has resulted in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression.

'By contrast, Dubai, like Malaysia during the 1997 currency crisis, refused to do what the banks and financiers demanded.

'Decision-makers in Dubai have followed their own counsel about how to handle the situation that followed the financial crisis.

'In doing so, they have demonstrated that the demands of financiers are open to negotiation and that the terms can be fairly different when government coffers are not open for the relief of bankers,' he said.

'When the nay-sayers spin their worst-case scenarios, I am reminded that many of the same talking heads were ready to write off Malaysia after it took its own course during the Asian financial crisis of 1997,' he added.

'More immediately, I contemplate the wrenching and damaging restructuring of debt that is taking shape in the West.

'My conclusion is that there might be some benefits to the take-it-or-leave-it restructuring that is being pursued in Dubai,' he added.-TradeArabia News Service