Dubai economy to grow 3.2% in 2020

Aden - Yasmine El Tohamy - Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, on Tuesday said Dubai will post higher gross domestic product (GDP) growth next year.

While announcing Dubai's economic outlook, Sheikh Hamdan said projected short-to-medium term economic activity in Dubai indicates a real GDP growth of 2.1 per cent this year, 3.2 per cent in 2020 and three per cent in 2021.

Sheikh Hamdan stressed that the comprehensive development vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has made Dubai an attractive environment for investment and enabled the city to make major economic and developmental strides. This has strengthened Dubai's global indicators, including in education, health, women's empowerment and competitiveness.

Sheikh Hamdan praised the policy of openness in Dubai and the support extended to innovative projects and entrepreneurship, which has made the city an ideal investment destination at a regional level and a gateway to promising regional markets. He also noted the key role played by government initiatives and investments, as well as the Expo 2020 projects, in promoting growth and supporting greater productivity and investor confidence in the Dubai economy.

Dubai's economic outlook elaborated growth in different sectors and projected 1.7 per cent growth for construction next year compared to 1.2 per cent in 2019 while real estate is expected to achieve 3.6 per cent in 2020 as against 2.2 per cent this year.

Tourism sector growth will hit 6.6 per cent next year from 3.1 per cent this year. Manufacturing, transport & logistics and financial services will grow by 3.1 per cent, 3.8 per cent and 2.7 per cent, respectively, next year.

Sami Al Qamzi, director-general of Dubai Economy, said major policy initiatives were introduced and contributed to bolstering domestic demand, reducing the cost of doing business, boosting SME liquidity, and supporting the tourism and real estate sectors. Inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI) into Dubai also accelerated and reached Dh38.5 billion in 2018, an increase of 41 per cent over its 2017 level.

"These and other initiatives contributed to accelerating growth in the second half of 2018 to 2.2 per cent, up from 1.7 per cent in the first half of 2018, resulting in overall real GDP growth in 2018 of 1.9 per cent," Qamzi said.

Importantly, GDP growth in 2018 was also supported by growth in productivity, which increased by two per cent in 2018 over its 2017 level. This was driven by the quest for business efficiency gains and supported by ongoing efforts to transition into a knowledge-based economy.

Looking ahead
In January 2019, Sheikh Mohammed announced his 50-year Charter. As has always been the norm, His Highness' Charter anticipated the challenges ahead and articulated a set of balanced, integrated, and flexible policy initiatives that will accelerate development and ensure sustainability and prosperity in the Emirate. Importantly, the charter reaffirmed Dubai's fundamental policy principles as a free and open market economy, and a preferred destination for foreign and domes-tic investments.

Dubai continues to develop new growth strategies to be fully prepared for future changes in the global and regional economic landscapes, including in areas related to artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, and the Fourth Industrial Revolution. It seeks to create an enabling environment that will attract the private sector to invest in new innovative sectors and expand to regional and global markets. - [email protected]