DEVELOPMENT-UAE: Third place among Arab manufacturers

By IPS Correspondents Reprint | | Print |

Att.Editors: The following item is by the United Arab Emirates news agency (WAM)

ABU DHABI, Feb 10 2003 (IPS) - The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become the third largest manufacturer in the Arab world after Egypt and Saudi Arabia.

"There are 2,000 industrial units in the country, predominantly involved in the manufacture of building materials, equipment and machinery, auto spare parts, chemicals, paper and metals," said a Bank of Sharjah report issued yesterday, according to the ‘Gulf News’.

It also said the banking sector would have charted a 7-10 percent consolidated profit jump in 2002 to exceed Dh5 billion (1.36 billion dollars) for the first time. This would be on the back of a healthy 4.2 percent GDP expansion to Dh246 billion (67.03 billion dollars) as per preliminary estimates, it said.

The heartening growth comes during a year when "the world has rarely witnessed so much confusion and differences among major political players", badly impacting global economic parameters across a broad front.

But "unlike many countries which have postponed the launch of massive development plans pending the assessment of world economic direction, the UAE has adopted a different approach based on the opportunity of taking advantage from the lull in world activity through attracting large-scale investments for its massive development projects", to ensure the country remains an oasis of stability and plays a pivotal economic role in the region.

Citing the Arab Monetary Fund, the report noted UAE free trade zones had been instrumental in spearheading the manufacturing sector’s growth, enabling revenues generated to Dh29.36 billion (eight billion dollars), or 12 percent of GDP.

Policies aimed at "developing ports around the free zones, tax incentives and cheap energy have not only stoked domestic firms but also been most conducive to attracting foreign investment", it observed.

It noted while Abu Dhabi concentrated on oil and petrochemical projects, Dubai set the stage for new economy and urban development enterprises, and Sharjah emphasized on small and medium enterprises together with massive urban construction.

The bank said several non-oil sectors were active, especially local and foreign trade, construction, services and tourism, apart from manufacturing. "They contributed a major part to GDP expansion by growing five percent to Dh179 billion (48.77 billion dollars)."