The Central Bank expects that the real GDP of the UAE will increase by 2.5% in 2021, with non-oil GDP growth of 3.6%, provided that oil output will remain stable after determining the production rate of "OPEC Plus".
The central bank expected that economic improvement in the non-oil sector would begin in the fourth quarter of 2020, with the containment of the "Covid-19" virus, with the growth of credit portfolios at banks and the recovery of the employment market. In this regard, data on the tourism and hospitality markets in Abu Dhabi reveal a recovery in occupancy rates and operating income in October, which is the best performance recorded since March 2020, with expectations that this pace of improvement will continue.
During the third quarter of 2020, economic activity in the UAE partially recovered, after easing closure restrictions and resuming international travel, and this matter brought great benefits to the UAE, given its position as a regional center for trade, transport and travel. According to expectations, the real non-oil GDP will contract by 5% in 2020, after a 2.7% year-on-year contraction in the first quarter of this year.
Source (Al Khaleej Emirati Newspaper, Edited)
