Abu Dhabi approves $13.61 billion in economic stimulus

DUBAI: Abu Dhabi’s crown prince said on Tuesday he had approved Dh50 billion ($13.61 billion) worth of measures to stimulate growth in the emirate and make it easier to do business, create jobs and boost tourism.

Sheikh Mohamed Bin Zayed, de facto leader of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), tweeted that the new initiative would also speed up contract payments to the private sector and exempt new licenses from the requirement of having a physical presence in the emirate in the first two years.

“Under the guidance of HH Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed, I have approved a 3-year, 50 billion dirham economic stimulus package to support Abu Dhabi’s economic development and have tasked the Executive Council’s Executive Committee to draw up a working plan for allocations within 90 days,” Sheikh Mohammed tweeted. He also ordered the creation of at least 10,000 jobs for Emiratis in the private and public sectors over the next five years.

More money would be spent to establish an “Abu Dhabi Accelerators and Advanced Industries Council” to attract and support value-added investments and new technologies.

The UAE economy is expected to recover gradually this year without suffering a significant blow to growth from the introduction of a 5 per cent value-added tax (VAT) in January.

Growth rose by 1.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2018, accelerating from 0.1 per cent in the previous quarter year-on-year, the central bank said last week.

Non-oil economic activity in the Gulf Arab country grew by 3.1 per cent from a year earlier over the same period, slowing slightly from 3.4 per cent in the final quarter of 2017.