Business | Economy
UAE economy on the upswing, says official
The worst is over, Al Shehi tells forum
- Agencies
- Published: 00:00 October 21, 2010
- Image Credit: ABDUL RAHMAN/Gulf News
- The UAE aims to boost industrial production to 20-25 per cent of gross domestic product, from 16.2 per cent at present, over the next five years, Mohammad Bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehi, director general of the UAE Ministry of Economy, said in London.
London: The United Arab Emirates' economy is in a growth phase, having weathered the worst of a global economic crisis, with average real gross domestic product seen increasing by 2.5 per cent this year, a top Ministry of Economy official said Wednesday.
"We have now entered the next phase of growth," Mohammad Al Shehi, the Economy Ministry's director general told an investment forum in London.
Earlier this month, the International Monetary Fund raised its 2010 growth forecast for the United Arab Emirates to 2.4 per cent, from 1.3 per cent in May. It now sees the UAE's economy expanding by 3.2 per cent in 2011.
Al Shehi said the country's economic growth was being led by Abu Dhabi, the largest emirate and home to 95 per cent of the country's crude oil. The emirate contributes about two-thirds of the UAE's overall gross domestic product, or GDP.
Although Abu Dhabi is set to experience some of the strongest growth amongst countries in the Gulf region, market liquidity in the emirate is still tight, Declan Hegarty, HSBC's managing director and head of business in Abu Dhabi, told the forum.
Liquidity
"There isn't a consistent liquidity in the market yet," Hegarty said.
"There are a number of entities in Abu Dhabi who are considering acquisitions that are consistent with 2030," Hegarty told the Reuters Middle East Investment summit, referring to the emirate's strategic development blueprint Plan 2030.
He said Abu Dhabi would consider any industrial process in energy, as well as the hospitality industry for purchase in 2011 but would spend its money cautiously.
"They know what they're looking for. There's a very clearly communicated list of industries that are on the shopping list and the bar is set high because they know they have to live with the consequences of what they buy," Hegarty said.
Industry increasing
The UAE aims to boost industrial production to 20-25 per cent of gross domestic product, from 16.2 per cent at present, over the next five years, Mohammad Bin Abdul Aziz Al Shehi, director general of the UAE Ministry of Economy, said in London.
The UK's annual trade with the United Arab Emirates may reach $12 billion (Dh44 billion) by 2015, said Alistair Burt, the UK's minister for the Middle East and South Asia. He was speaking at the same conference in London Wednesday.
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