UAE economy to top Dh1.5tr

The UAE economy is expected to continue achieving new records and cross the Dh1.5 trillion mark next year, Washington-based Institute for International Finance, or IIF, predicted. “The UAE economy is to continue its rise to reach US$395 billion in 2013 and a record high of around US$410 billion in 2014,” WAM said, quoting an IIF report. The report showed the UAE’s gross domestic product, or GDP, grew to its highest ever level of around US$375 billion in current prices last year from US$352 billion in 2011, an increase of about 6.5 per cent. GDP in 2012 was more than double its level of nearly US$181 billion in 2006. The UAE maintained its position as the second-largest Arab economy in 2012 after its GDP swelled by US$23 billion in current prices, according to the IIF report. The study showed the UAE has remained the second-largest Arab economy after Saudi Arabia for more than 10 years because of a steady and rapid growth in its GDP as a result of high public spending, a surge in oil prices and a steady increase in private sector investment. The IIF, which groups major banks in Western countries, said Saudi Arabia remained the largest economy in the region with a GDP of around US$640 billion in last year, mainly because of its massive oil output, which reached one of its highest annual averages of 9.8 million barrels per day in 2012. The report showed the UAE’s economy accounted for more than a quarter of the GCC’s GDP of US$1.482 trillion in 2012. From Khaleej Times