Abu Dhabi: A new law on banking credit will soon be introduced, Minister of Economy Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri told reporters in the capital on Monday on the sidelines of a conference.
Al Mansouri said the ministry had also finalised the draft of a new companies law that is expected to be introduced next year.
As regards the banking credit law, he said the Ministry of Finance had drafted the legislation and referred it to the federal cabinet for consideration and issuance after being revised by the Ministerial Committee for Legislations.
The new legislation, along with measures such as e-government schemes, would help attract more foreign investment to the UAE and sharpen the country's competitive edge in the Arabian and international markets, Al Mansouri said.
Favourable climate
He said the UAE wanted to create a favourable investment climate but also wanted to be transparent at the same time.
Referring to the impact of the global credit crunch, he said that 2009 is going to be a "testing year" for the country as far as the economy is concerned, just as it is expected to be for some of the major world economies.
He, however, declined to make any growth forecasts for the UAE's gross domestic product (GDP) for the current year.
"I'll not make any forecasts on the GDP until the end of 2008. We have to evaluate all the different economic sectors we have," he said.
On the global credit crunch, Al Mansouri said there were lessons to be learnt from it but added that GCC economies, including the UAE, remained in good shape.
Allegations dismissed
On allegations by some countries that the Gulf Sovereign Wealth Funds, even though contributing strongly to vital Western projects like aviation, energy and infrastructure, are still ungoverned and could be used as a political tool, Al Mansouri said that the investments made by the Gulf Sovereign Wealth Funds are business-driven and aren't politically motivated.
