Dubai’s Economy Contracted 2.5% in 2009, Preliminary Data Show

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Dubai’s economy contracted 2.5 percent last year after expanding 5.7 percent in 2008, according to preliminary government estimates in a document obtained by Bloomberg News.

The Dubai Statistics Centre declined to comment on the data as economic growth rates for 2009 have not been made public yet.

Dubai and its state-owned entities, which borrowed more than $100 billion to transform the city into a global tourism, trading and services hub, suffered as international credit dried up and real estate prices plummeted by 50 percent from their peak. A slowdown in global trade also led to the contraction in the economy.