'Economy likely to recover in second half of this year'

Recovery in the UAE economy can be expected by the second half of this year and the region would outperform many other economies in 2010 and 2011, a senior economist has said.

"We have started to see early signs of recovery. For the coming few months, liquidity situation would be tight but UAE, which is structurally much stronger than many other economies, would see a growth of three to four per cent and outperform other economies," Marios Maratheftis, Regional Head of Research, Middle East, Standard Chartered Bank, told Emirates Business.

He said this year the region was expected to see a growth of around 0.5 per cent and recovery could start by the second half of this year. "It does not mean we would go back to previous growth levels. A growth rate of three to four per cent would be high enough if it is a good quality growth."