Khaleej Times
ABU DHABI —
Shaikh Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and UAE
Minister of Finance, said the economic integration between Arab nations
is a must to boost the inter-Arab economic activity and achieving a
sustainable economic growth. Opening the extraordinary meeting of Arab
Finance Ministers in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday, Shaikh Hamdan reiterated the
importance of the entry of all Arab countries into the Global Forum on
Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, which will
boost investments and competitiveness. At present only Saudi
Arabia, the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain are signatory to the forum, while
remaining 18-Arab economies have not yet started the process of complying
to its conditions. Shaikh Hamdan also explained the importance of
finalising and implementing the decisions of the Economic and Social
Development Summit held in Kuwait in 2009 with regards to trade and
services and the establishment of the Arab Customs Union in 2015 in order
to better deal with economic development challenges in the region. “In
this context, we need to enhance our capability of establishing a solid
presence in global markets and to affirm our role in the global financial
and economic system by establishing a new Arab development model,” he
said. He asked to reduce business risks, decrease costs, build new
institutions, enhance governance, more initiatives to organise and
develop Arab financial markets, increase opportunities of financing trade
and improve the investment climate to attract foreign direct investment.
|
|
Gulf News
Dubai: The
UAE plans to spend an additional Dh110 million on top of its 2011 budget,
and to pass a new bankruptcy and public debt law before year's end,
Minister of State for Financial Affairs Obaid Humaid Al Tayer told Dow
Jones. "We expect to spend an additional total of Dh110 million on
enhancing the health sector," Al Tayer said. In July, the federal
government announced an increase of Dh540 million to the 2011 budget,
including Dh100 million for the health sector. "Since July we have
added the additional Dh110 million in spending on the health sector,
bringing the upped public spending to Dh650 million," he said.
Article continues belowHe added that he expects the UAE's bankruptcy law
to be issued "before the end of 2011, as the draft is ready".
Sovereign bonds Asked about the public debt law, Al Tayer said he expects
it to be passed soon, adding, "We can start issuing sovereign bonds
18 months after the law is passed." His comments came after a
meeting of 22 Arab nations in Abu Dhabi, where finance ministers shrugged
off the threat to their economies from political upheaval and a global
slowdown, saying ample cash reserves and mutual support would help them
withstand new shocks. The meeting of the 22 ministers follows the fall of
Tripoli to forces opposing the rule of Muammar Gaddafi. Tunisia and
Egypt's rulers were ousted earlier in the year and there is ongoing
unrest in Yemen, Bahrain and Syria.
|
|
Khaleej Times
ABU DHABI —
The liquidity levels of the UAE banks are comfortable and the nation’s
financial sector is “quite resilient” to the economic shocks, Obaid
Humaid Al Tayer, State Minister for Financial Affairs said. The
minister told reporters in Abu Dhabi, on Wednesday that the government
took a number of bold measures in September 2008, soon after the
financial crisis. Al Tayer termed as “ahead of time” the measures that
gave strength to the financial sector, making it quite resilient to the
effects of the financial crisis. “We feel quite comfortable and confident
of the resilience of our banking sector,” he said. However, “We
remain always vigilant,” by monitoring the economic situation. With
regard to liquidity in the financial system, he said,“ we have no concerns.”
Speaking to reporters after the extraordinary meeting of the finance
ministers from the Arab world, the state minister said that the UAE
presented a five-point Abu Dhabi Initiative to address the present
weaknesses in the Arab economies in the wake of recent political
upheavals. In its plan, the UAE suggested measures to strengthen the
economic and financial systems; improving business climate by introducing
structural economic reforms. Al Tayer said that the initiative also
suggested a mechanism to tackle the rise in food prices, which has posed
a serious threat to economically vulnerable nations apart from funding
the inter-Arab trade, which has not picked up despite some of the best
efforts by the member states.
|
|
Gulf News
Abu Dhabi:
The UAE's approach to economic policy is based on five main pillars that
support the financial and economic stability of the Arab world, Obaid
Humaid Al Tayer, UAE Minister of State for Financial Affairs, said
yesterday. Addressing a press conference after the meeting of Arab
finance ministers, Al Tayer said: "These pillars include financial
and economic stability in the Arab world, creating job openings,
stability of prices of goods, Arab food security, trade financing and
Arab electronic clearance, which will help boost inter- and
intra-regional trade." Regional financial status Al Tayer said that
the ministers did not discuss financing any Arab country, but "the
IMF report about the global and regional financial status". Article
continues below "We also discussed the report by the OECD
[Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development] with regard to
transparency and tax regulations," added Al Tayer, saying the
ministers listened to UAE proposals on upgrading Arab financial policies.
Following the Abu Dhabi meeting, the Arab Monetary Fund plans to send a
letter to the IMF and the World Bank on the views of the Arab finance
ministers. Although the US debt issue and the EU's fiscal woes have no
direct impact on the region, if oil prices drop, this will negatively
affect the performance of Arab economies, said Al Tayer. He said that the
ministers had also discussed how Arabs would benefit from their
competitive advantages in some sectors.
|
Khaleej Times
DUBAI — The UAE
non-oil private sector grew at the slowest pace in 15 months in August, a
survey conducted by HSBC Bank and Markit Economics revealed on Wednesday.
The purchasing managers index (PMI) for the non-oil private sector
dropped to 50.9 in August from 53.3 in July. A PMI reading above 50
indicates expansion in the sector, while one below suggest decline. The
latest reading was the lowest in 15 months. “Underlying the weaker headline
figure were slower rises in both new business and employment, a stagnation
of output and a fall in input stocks,” the bank said. “New business growth
continued to slow during the latest survey period, reaching a one-year low.
The rate of increase in new work has cooled sharply over the past two
months from the series record rates recorded in the second quarter.
However, data suggested that the latest moderation was largely centred on
the domestic market as new export orders rose at a sharper pace, boosted by
a weaker dirham. Where higher takings were reported, firms commented on
good demand, competitive pricing and successful promotional activities,”
HSBC said. Production, meanwhile, remained unchanged in August, ending
one-and-a-half years of expansion. Employment in the non-oil private sector
expanded at a moderate rate during the month, reflecting the softer order
growth. Input price pressures remained at elevated levels. Despite that,
companies reduced their selling prices in August, though moderately, in
order to remain competitive and attract
more customers.
Arabian Business
State-backed
Dubai developer Nakheel has delayed the issuance of AED1bn ($272m) of
Islamic bonds to its trade contractors after bank account details of some
of its creditors were found to be inaccurate, it was reported on Tuesday.
The developer, which last month issued the first tranche of an AED4.8bn
($1.31bn) Islamic bond as part of a complex debt restructuring process, has
asked the 30 trade creditors to resubmit their account details to proceed
with the second AED1bn tranche, according to a report by the Alkhaleej
newspaper. Nakheel declined to comment further on the report when contacted
by Arabian Business. The developer behind the Palm Jumeirah and The World
islands, was at the heart of Dubai’s crippling debt crisis in 2008 after a
property bust bought the company to its knees. The firm Aug 24 announced
details of its five-year debt restructuring programme, which included the
issuance of an AED4.8bn Islamic bond in part payment to trade creditors.
Nakheel offered creditors repayment of 40 percent cash and the remaining 60
percent in the form of an Islamic bond, or sukuk, at a profit rate of 10
percent. Nakheel said Aug 24 it was restructuring some AED59bn of
liabilities, including AED32bn to Dubai government, AED19bn to trade
creditors and AED8bn to banks. The company said it had settled about 60
percent of liabilities linked to buyers in its stalled real estate
projects, representing about AED10bn ($2.72bn), by offering investors homes
in completed Nakheel projects or a credit switch to another investor or
project.
|
Khaleej Times
DUBAI — The
Global Competitiveness Report 2011/2012, issued by the World Economic
Forum, ranked the UAE 27th globally for competitiveness. The report
classified the UAE as an innovation-driven economy. This is the highest
stage of economic development that a country can achieve. This
classification is based on factors that promote innovation in economic
development. The UAE was the only Arab country to be classified in
this category for three years consecutively. Other countries in this stage
of economic development include Germany, Japan, Sweden, Australia, Canada,
the United States, Switzerland, the United Kingdom and Singapore. According
to the report, the UAE has ranked among the top ten countries in more
than 20 global competitiveness indicators, and has scored advanced
positions among the 142 countries that the report has covered: The UAE
ranked third globally in business costs of crime and violence; fourth
globally in quality of air infrastructure; fifth globally in wastefulness
of government spending; fifth globally in government procurement of
advanced tech products; fifth globally in flexibility of wage
determination; sixth globally in quality of port infrastructure; seventh
globally in quality of roads infrastructure; seventh globally in the burden
of customs procedures.
|
