DUBAI // The economic component of the Dubai Strategic Plan 2015 is being revised to stabilise the emirate's financial system and safeguard jobs, a chief government economist said yesterday.
In particular, the rule that expatriates must leave the emirate within 30 days of being dismissed may be changed. Dr Raed Safadi, the director of the strategic planning and policy section of the Department of Economic Development, said that "every single policy was being reviewed and scrutinised right now".
"The economic pillar of Dubai's Strategic Plan is being revised otherwise we'd be in denial," Dr Safadi said yesterday.
"We need to trace growth strategically and assess labour, capital and all the issues associated with the economic fundamentals of Dubai."
When the plan was announced in early 2007, its focus was on growth of the emirate's non-oil sectors, while taking into account infrastructure, social and economic development, land, the environment and security.
Dr Safadi said protecting jobs to assist Dubai's future growth was of paramount concern to the Government, and the rule stipulating that foreign workers who lost their jobs have to leave within 30 days was under review.
Thousands of jobs have been lost across the property, construction and banking sectors since the global financial crisis began to his the economy.
"Growth will not come back unless the financial system is stabilised ... and jobs are created ... our mind is focused on the job market and safeguarding that," Dr Safadi said.
Details on how funds from the US$10 billion (Dh36.73bn) sovereign bond would be dispersed to Dubai government-related companies would be announced in two weeks, he said.
The bond is part of a $20bn programme, $10bn of which has been underwritten by the Central Bank, to enable firms to meet their financing obligations.
"For the short-term, $20bn will do the trick, but if Dubai needs more, we have more," Dr Safadi said.
In February, Nasser al Shaikh, the director general of the Dubai Department of Finance, said that among the considerations of the revised economic plan was a stimulus package for small and medium-sized companies. "It's a new environment and we'll take certain steps to see how we can work in today's environment," Mr al Shaikh said.
The revised plan was unlikely to restrict Dubai's open-market environment, which has driven growth since the 1980s, and would strive to limit inflation that hit about 12.5 per cent last year, Dr Safadi said.
"The openness aspect is fundamental, there's no way you can revisit it," he said. "It will continue no matter what pressure comes from outside ... and we don't want inflation to be as high as it was in 2008, or go beyond the reasonable limit."
Dr Safadi said details of the review would be announced in due course.
"We are being pushed by the market and are working as fast as we can."
But economists said no one could tell when Dubai would start to recover.
"The lack of data available on the impact the current financial crisis is having on Dubai makes it near impossible to predict when the recovery would begin, and to what the extent the global crisis would have an impact on Dubai," said Dr Eisa Abdelgalil, the chief economist at Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
"The dependency on economic slowdown-prone sectors, such as real estate, and dependency on foreign labour and capital have had a major impact on the emirate."
But Dubai has the opportunity to rethink its economic model and diversification due to its leadership, easy process of decision making and flexible economic structure.
"Powerful decisions can happen here overnight. Look at the United States where the decision making takes an eternity to materialise," Mr Abdelgalil said.
He said he feared a protracted economic recession in the UAE's export markets, emigration of skilled labour, loss of consumer and business confidence and the loss of faith in the Dubai's model could happen if emergency measures were not introduced immediately.
"Real GDP growth will weaken in 2009 due to weaknesses of its components, while there will be a fall in credit and money growth in 2009 due to banks' little appetite for new loans," Mr Abdelgalil said.
"Less domestic demand pressure will reduce domestic inflation."
He said he also expected a fall in food and commodity prices to reduce imported inflation. "The key risk outlook is a lower oil prices in 2009."
agiuffrida@thenational.ae
shafez@thenational.ae
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
BLACKBERRY
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UFC Fight Night 2
1am – Early prelims
2am – Prelims
4am-7am – Main card
7:30am-9am – press cons
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
J%20Street%20Polling%20Results
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How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
MATCH INFO
Inter Milan v Juventus
Saturday, 10.45pm (UAE)
Watch the match on BeIN Sports
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, Leon.
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Opening Premier League fixtures, August 14
- Brentford v Arsenal
- Burnley v Brighton
- Chelsea v Crystal Palace
- Everton v Southampton
- Leicester City v Wolves
- Manchester United v Leeds United
- Newcastle United v West Ham United
- Norwich City v Liverpool
- Tottenham v Manchester City
- Watford v Aston Villa
