Moving to the Mideast. Dubai has long been seen as a business hub in the Middle East. But there are signs that its economic recipe for success might be facing new challenges. Jacob Greaves reports.

For years Dubai's skyline has towered over its neighbours as a regional lure for expats. But it could be losing some of its shine. Some economists have suggested the city is showing a growth slowdown in white collar jobs such as financing and engineering. And they pointed to external factors as part of the issue.

JEAN PAUL-PIGAT, FOUNDER LIGHTHOUSE RESEARCH "If you want to know what's going on in Dubai's local economy you have to look at Saudi Arabia who's economy is twice the size of the entire UAE, as the saying goes if Saudi Arabia sneezes the rest of the GCC catches a cold, so if you're looking at demand trends in the UAE and Dubai, in particular, you need to see the slowdown in Saudi Arabia as one of the main reasons for this."

Dubai's property market is also going through a rough patch, The last government data concerning the second quarter of 2018 showed rental prices drop over 8% year on year.

JACOB GREAVES DUBAI, UAE "In some senses, Dubai is a victim of its own past success, its economic model has given rise to skyscrapers and commerce attracting people and capital from around the globe out of what was just decades ago a desert outpost. And that means it's become an example other Middle East countries want to replicate, giving rise to greater competition."

As Saudi Arabia drives to diversify its economy, it is trying to entice more talent and investment. Dubai is also a changing environment for foreign workers, this year introducing 5% VAT and promoting so-called Emiratisation, a goal to increase the presence of homegrown talent in the private sector.

DAVID JONES, CEO THE TALENT ENTERPRISE "Certainly the wage levels and cost of living appears to be lagging behind what we see even in other GCC countries, so whilst I think Dubai has done a lot of work, but in terms of ease of doing business, I think you can see places like Bahrain have got this interesting combination of ease of doing business and some improvements there, but also seen to be a relatively low cost of living and a more comfortable place to work."

Perhaps most importantly, the government has recently introduced a law permitting 100% ownership of some UAE based business. Details are still limited, but it's a big change from the 49% ceiling previously in place. Undoubtedly Dubai remains a regional hub, the question is whether it can still stand tall amid increasing competition. JG, CGTN.