The last time anyone knew exactly how Abu Dhabi’s economy was faring was in 2019, before the pandemic hit.
The capital of the United Arab Emirates -- a major oil producer and business hub with clout around the Middle East -- last provided official annual gross domestic product data for the emirate in 2020, when it released preliminary figures for the previous year, according to the official website of the Abu Dhabi Statistics Centre.
Its most recent quarterly data covered the first three months of 2019, and was published in July of that year, according to official data. A bond prospectus issued by the emirate in May 2021 was also based on data from 2019.
The black hole at the heart of Abu Dhabi’s public spreadsheets isn’t just a problem for data crunchers. It’s an example of the sluggishness and lack of clarity in disclosing indicators that has long frustrated investors, economists and rating companies focused on the Persian Gulf.
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