Dubai: Sharjah’s economy expanded by 8 per cent last year, its fastest rate in five years, according to recent data from the Ministry of Economy.
The data showed that the emirates’ economy surpassed Dh70 billion in 2012 and is expected to exceed Dh80 billion in 2014. No numbers were given for 2013.
Over the past decade the UAE’s third-largest emirate has grown at an average pace of 11 per cent. However, in the fall out of the global financial crisis the emirates economy shrank by 5 per cent and then bounced back to grow by 4 per cent in 2010, according to the data.
The economy of Sharjah, which is the Islamic Culture Capital this year, grew by 7 per cent in 2011 and 5 per cent in 2012.
Sharjah is the only economy in the Middle East with no single sector contributing more than 20 per cent of its GDP, according to state-owned investment arm Shurooq.
Earlier this year, credit rating agencies Moody’s and Standard & Poor rated the emirates with an A3 stable rating and an A/A-1 stable outlook, respectively. At the time, Moody said Sharjah’s government finances benefit significantly from its membership in the UAE federation.
In September, demand for Sharjah’s 10-year $750 million (Dh275 billion) sukuk topped $7.85 billion, according to Shurooq.
Dubai
The economy of Dubai grew by 4.6 per cent, which was also its fastest growth rate since 2007, according to data released by the Dubai Statistic Centre earlier this year. The GDP expanded to Dh325.7 billion, up from Dh311 billion a year earlier.
“Dubai really took off last year with really robust activity in the second half,” said Dima Jardaneh, Senior Economist at EFG Hermes, by phone.
Abu Dhabi
Abu Dhabi’s economy grew by 4.8 per cent to reach Dh953.2 billion in 2013, according to data from the Statistics Centre Abu Dhabi (SCAD). Oil accounted for 55 per cent of economy of the largest emirate.
UAE
The United Arab Emirates overall gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4.8 per cent in 2013 to reach Dh1.54 trillion, according to the Ministry of Economy, with non-oil sectors contributing 61 per cent. The UAE’s economy is expected to expand to Dh2 trillion in 2019. The Ministry also said foreign currency reserves in the UAE are estimated at Dh293 billion and are expected to reach Dh690 billion by the end of 2019.
