You are where you are located for a reason and in reality, there are other choices. In every industry, there are alternatives and you always must consider them. This is more true in the services business because as COVID lock downs showed with a laptop, you can do business from anywhere. That being said, it is good to have a home base and do all the things that people do at the place they consider home.

In an article by James Griffiths of Reuters, one of the fallouts from the war between the US and Iran was that Iran has shot missiles and drones to other countries around it, even though technically they were not part of the aggression. The countries had various views about Iran, but their military infrastructure was not part of the US and Israel bombing, however Iran shot missiles because all the countries had close ties with the US. One of the little-known facts is since the 1970’s the US dollar has been the currency of choice for OPEC to receive and invest in. The oil economies of the Middle East prop up the US dollar, so the effect of bigger deficits is lessened, relative to other countries in the world. Iran was trying to hurt the US dollar which would have the effect, investors would have to pay attention to the US deficits and is it going down?

With low taxes, sunny weather and a seemingly endless supply of luxury properties, Dubai has long presented itself as a haven for the global elite. The UAE city has seen its population of millionaires grow 102% in the past decade, according to research by Henley & Partners to 81,200.

Jim Krane, a fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute, told CNBC Dubai’s economic model is based on expatriate residents providing the brains, brawn and investment capital. You need stability and security to bring in smart foreigners. To keep them, you need the infrastructure and Dubai has evolved to the playground of the Middle East which is the reason why their airline Emirates had more flights into Dubai making it the busiest airport in the world. With all the oil money, Dubai had reasons for tourists to come to the city. The infrastructure improvements brought in people from all the world to do the construction. All of the activity is based on being a safe and secure location, at the moment according to the Financial Times 10 to 15% of British nationals have left Dubai.

Hong Kong used to offer the same choices as Dubai, Hong Kong offered easy access to China and other Asian markets without the risks, legal and otherwise of doing business in them directly.

Drew Bernstein, a managing partner at tax and accounting firm MBP Global, said capital is moving from Dubai to Hong Kong and Singapore. Hong Kong’s challenge is that it is firmly part of the China geopolitical sphere, so its prosperity remains closely tied to broader geopolitical stability in the APAC region and the tenor of US-China relations.

Middle Eastern money tends to be very cautious about these US-China dynamics, given the region’s deep commercial and security ties to the US.

Ultimately, Hong Kong is for players who want China access, while Singapore is for a China-neutral position.

Other countries seeing inquiries is Zug in Switzerland.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, within every industry are alternatives. At times, it may not seem to be alternatives and when monopoly like positions are to found, but come a crisis, alternatives are found. The issue is what happens when the crisis is over? Will the monopoly like positions rebound to where they were or will the alternatives or competition take market share? It is a never ending question, but if there is no crisis, it tends to be a decades answer.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.