Non-oil growth to accelerate to 3% next year, IMF projects
The United Arab Emirates’ (UAE) economy is recovering after ‘a challenging period’ and it is expected to record an overall growth of 2.5 percent in its gross domestic product (GDP) next year, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“Non-oil growth could exceed 1 percent in 2019 and pick up to around 3 percent next year, the fastest since 2016, on the back of Expo [Dubai] 2020 and fiscal stimulus. Overall, GDP growth would register 2.5 percent in 2020,” said Koshy Mathai, who led the IMF’s mission to the UAE in a statement.
However, the IMF executive noted that sustaining strong non-oil growth after Expo Dubai 2020 event remains a major priority, especially over the longer term with "the likelihood that global oil demand will slow in the face of technological advances as well as policy responses to climate change."
Earlier this week, the UAE Central Bank governor told reporters in Abu Dhabi that next year’s economic growth figures are better than this year, “but this remains an estimate”.
“The latest projections from the UAE Central Bank indicates that the economy is continuing to recover, with overall growth projected at 2.4 percent in 2019, comprising 1.4 percent growth in the non-energy sector and 5 percent growth in the energy sector,” Mubarak Rashid Al- Mansouri said at the Middle East Banking Forum in Abu Dhabi this week.
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