UAE sticking to dollar reserves

Marrakech: The UAE is not diversifying its foreign currency reserves away from the dollar and its real estate problems have been exaggerated, the Central Bank chief said on Friday.

"We are not diversifying our foreign currency reserves. We are sticking to the dollar," Central Bank governor Sultan Bin Nasser Al Suwaidi told Reuters on the sidelines of a finance conference in the Moroccan city of Marrakech.

Asked about problems in the real estate sector in the Emirates, one of the top five world oil exporters, he said: "There are reports exaggerating the problems of the sector but we are okay."

"We are not worried about deflation. The United Arab Emirates economy is very competitive," Al Suwaidi said.