Economic trends 1]

United Arab Emirates

Photos: Pitopia

Fig. 1 Shortly before the opening of the Burj Khalifa, the outer surfaces of the highest building in the world were paved.

Photos: Pitopia

Fig. 2 Now more in demand than ever: Gold as an investment. The UAE has alsways been traded so successfully.

Fig. 3 Typical for the region of Arabia: Shopping Malls.

Fig. 4 One of the most expensive hotels in the world: Emirate Palace.

According to forecasts, the UAE will again reach the imports level of the unprecedented boom year of 2008 in 2012 at the latest. Abu Dhabi has got the necessary petrodollars to continue many of its ambitious major projects whereas Dubai is one of the winners of the political crisis in the Arab region. The city is a safe, liberal, attractive and – in the meantime – less expensive place to do business on the Arabian Peninsula whose advantages in terms of logistics and tourism are very hard to achieve for any other place in the region.

General economic outlook

Gross domestic product trend

After a 1.6% decline in 2009, the UAE have again embarked on a growth path and should expect to achieve incremental real GDP growth in the coming years. From 2013, the Economist Intelligence Unit in the UK even anticipates GDP growth rates of 5% or more. These projections rely on figures published by the new National Bureau of Statistics, which is to consolidate the surveys conducted by the individual Emirates and adjust historic figures. According to observers, the new GDP figures are more realistic than the old, somewhat exaggerated...