Dubai has “great potential” and its infrastructure and regulations will enable it to attract huge sums of money in the future, Abdul Rahman al-Attiyah, the GCC Secretary-General said in a statement.

But the situation is certainly not rosy for the emirate right now; it is restructuring millions of dollars in debt after its conglomerate, Dubai World, requested a six-month debt standstill on November 25. Dubai World’s property arm Nakheel nearly defaulted on its $3.52 billion Islamic debt, but neighboring Abu Dhabi came to the rescue, offering $10 billion to Dubai on December 13, the day the sukuk matured.

“Investors will see a positive trend in the market, especially after the nation’s financial markets suffered following Dubai World’s announcement [in November],” Shadi Ramadan, head of trading at Al Dhafra Financial Services told Kipp last week.

But while the news boosted failing markets and improved investor confidence, 18 percent of our respondents said that the fiasco will deter investors from returning to Dubai’s financial markets.

“It’s true that the news [from Dubai] is good, but there are still debts to pay,” Ramadan said. “It’s great that the government found funds today, but where’s the rest of the money? And how will Dubai pay off its remaining debts?”

However 32 percent of our respondents were hopeful, saying that investors will go wherever the money takes them. The majority of our respondents, 39 percent, were more cautious; according to them investors returning to Dubai will depend on how well the government and its entities deal with their current debt burden.