#UAE Looks to Domestic Tourism, Desert Winter to Boost Revenue - Bloomberg

UAE Looks to Domestic Tourism, Desert Winter to Boost Revenue - Bloomberg

The United Arab Emirates started a campaign to encourage local tourism and promote its desert winters, as it looks to recover from the impact of the pandemic.

“The Most Beautiful Winter in the World” program is part of an effort to double domestic tourism’s 41 billion dirhams ($11 billion) contribution to the economy, Vice President and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum said in a tweet Saturday.

The UAE, which is reliant on energy and tourism, was hit this year due to the coronavirus and low oil prices, underscoring the need to find new sources of funds. The potential full public use of a China-backed Covid-19 vaccine could allow for a re-opening of the Gulf nation’s economy.

The oil-rich nation’s economic output is set to shrink 6.6% this year, according to the International Monetary Fund, while its budget shortfall is seen widening to the highest ever.

The UAE also launched a unified tourism identity across its seven emirates, and a government strategy to promote domestic tourism.

Major ‘economic’ changes expected from #Kuwait's parliament | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Major ‘economic’ changes expected from Kuwait's parliament | ZAWYA MENA Edition

Regarding the expectations from this Parliament concerning economic affairs, it seems that major changes are in order. A parliament of this kind will not accept crusty economic reforms, but will go deeper and demand a lot.

This is because the parliamentary body includes those familiar with financial affairs and are fiercely fighting administrative corruption, reports Al-Nahar daily.

The results of the parliamentary election also reveal that citizens have chosen those who will defend the reforms without compromising their well-being, which will form a buffer against any laws that may increase financial burdens or impose taxes and the like. According to informed sources, the next government must keep pace with the current Parliament, as ministers with different and radical solutions to the outstanding issues will be able to face the parliament with popular enthusiasm and giant aspirations for a change.

The new government formation will undoubtedly bring about influential changes, as the level of achievement will not satisfy all ambitions. The aspects of reform in the parliament are not scarce, and the aspects of reform in the new government should be influential and effective.

#UAE GDP expected back at pre-COVID levels by 2023 | ZAWYA MENA Edition

UAE GDP expected back at pre-COVID levels by 2023 | ZAWYA MENA Edition

The UAE’s real gross domestic product is expected to recover to 2019 levels by 2023 as a sharp drop in tourism and real estate activities — two key mainstays of the non-oil sector — will drag down the economy in 2020, according to economists and analysts.

The $414 billion UAE economy, dominated by Abu Dhabi (59 per cent of 2019 GDP) and Dubai (28 per cent), has been projected to contract 6.6 per cent in 2020 followed by a slight rebound of 1.3 per cent in 2021 by the International Monetary Fund.

The Washington-based Institute of International Finance, meanwhile, expects the UAE to experience a contraction of 5.7 per cent in 2020, followed by a modest recovery of 3.1 per cent in 2021.

S&P Global Ratings said in a recent report that Abu Dhabi can expect a gradual economic recovery from 2021, but with real GDP only to recover to close to 2019 levels by 2023.

“Hydrocarbon sector production will be boosted from 2022 as Opec+ oil production limits are lifted and new gas production comes on stream. Non-oil sector recovery will be driven by public investment in manufacturing particularly petrochemicals, logistics, and construction,” Trevor Cullinan, director at S&P Sovereign Ratings, wrote.

Gold hubs including #UAE pledge support for crackdown on illegal trade | Reuters

Gold hubs including UAE pledge support for crackdown on illegal trade | Reuters

Eleven gold trading hubs including the United Arab Emirates have declared their support for an initiative by the world’s most influential bullion market authority to improve regulation on issues such as money laundering and unethical sourcing of gold.

The London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) said on Friday authorities in the eleven hubs had responded positively to a letter it sent last month laying out regulatory standards.

The letter, reported by Reuters, said that if any centre did not enforce the standards, the LBMA could stop precious metals refineries it accredits from accepting bullion from them.

That would effectively block their access to the mainstream international bullion market because large banks that dominate gold trading tend to deal in metal only from LBMA-accredited refiners.

The LBMA letter asked recipients to declare their support by Dec. 11 and share an implementation plan by the end of January.