The “exceptional strength” of Abu Dhabi government's balance sheet provides the emirate with a buffer to counteract fiscal and external shocks, as well as the effects of regional geopolitical uncertainty, S&P Global Ratings has said.
The stable outlook of the emirate, which has the highest investment grade rating in the Gulf of “AA/Stable/A-1+", underpins Abu Dhabi’s fiscal and external positions, the rating agency said on Tuesday.
The fiscal and external positions expected to remain strong over the next two years. The assessment is based on S&P’s oil price and production assumptions.
“We expect economic growth to accelerate in 2022, largely due to increased oil production and higher oil prices, which indirectly support real GDP [gross domestic product] growth,” S&P said.
Abu Dhabi’s economy made a strong rebound last year as the pace of economic activity improved on government measures to curb the Covid-19 pandemic and minimise its impact on businesses and people.
The momentum continued this year and the emirate’s economy is set to grow by 6 per cent to 8 per cent over the next two years, Mohammed Al Shorafa, chairman of the emirate's Department of Economic Development, said in April.
Growth will be driven by the oil sector, government spending, financial services and foreign direct investment, Mr Al Shorafa said at the time.
Abu Dhabi's non-oil economy grew an annual 4.1 per cent last year, driven by government’s robust economic policies, figures compiled by Statistics Centre-Abu Dhabi showed.
S&P expects Abu Dhabi's real GDP growth to accelerate to more than 5 per cent in 2022, with real GDP reaching 2019 levels in 2023.
“We estimate hydrocarbon sector growth will surge about 10 per cent in 2022, averaging about 3 per cent annually over 2023 to 2025,” S&P said.
“The non-oil sector should expand about 2 per cent annually, faster relative to the years before the pandemic when it was broadly flat, fuelled by government and GRE [government-related entities] investment programmes.”
The $121 billion investment programme of state-owned Adnoc over the 2021-2025 period, to increase oil and gas production capacity and downstream capabilities, is one such example of GRE investments that are helping to boost the economy.
“Spillover effects from the Fifa World Cup in Qatar, with visitors potentially spending some time in the UAE, could also provide a boost to economic activity,” S&P said.
We expect economic growth to accelerate in 2022, largely due to increased oil production and higher oil prices, which indirectly support real GDP growth
S&P
The rating agency said Abu Dhabi's net asset position — or its fiscal buffer — of more than 250 per cent of GDP underpin its creditworthiness.
The government of Abu Dhabi posted a surplus of Dh37bn in 2021, or 4.4 per cent of its GDP, as revenue increased 47 per cent a year. Higher dividends from GREs contributed about 56 per cent of that increase while 41 per cent was from higher oil proceeds.
S&P expects Abu Dhabi's oil production to increase on an annual basis as Opec+ output quotas are lifted.
“We expect oil production to average 3.1 million bpd in 2022, reaching about 3.4 million bpd by 2025,” S&P said.
The rating agency assumes an average Brent oil price of $90 a barrel for the remainder of 2022 and $75 a barrel for 2023, before falling to $55 a barrel level for 2024 and beyond.
However, “to act as a buffer against oil price volatility, the government has accumulated one of the largest net asset positions of all the sovereigns we rate”, S&P said.
“We expect Adnoc, to be better placed than most global peers to weather the impact of the energy transition, supported by its large reserves, cash flow visibility and competitive cost profile,” it said.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Read more about the coronavirus
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
TECH%20SPECS%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2014%20PLUS
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How to help
Donate towards food and a flight by transferring money to this registered charity's account.
Account name: Dar Al Ber Society
Account Number: 11 530 734
IBAN: AE 9805 000 000 000 11 530 734
Bank Name: Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank
To ensure that your contribution reaches these people, please send the copy of deposit/transfer receipt to: juhi.khan@daralber.ae
2024%20Dubai%20Marathon%20Results
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Yuki Means Happiness
Alison Jean Lester
John Murray
The essentials
What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature
When: Friday until March 9
Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City
Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.
Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.
Information: www.emirateslitfest.com
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)
Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)
Saturday
Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Sunday
Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)
Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)
Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
UK's plans to cut net migration
Under the UK government’s proposals, migrants will have to spend 10 years in the UK before being able to apply for citizenship.
Skilled worker visas will require a university degree, and there will be tighter restrictions on recruitment for jobs with skills shortages.
But what are described as "high-contributing" individuals such as doctors and nurses could be fast-tracked through the system.
Language requirements will be increased for all immigration routes to ensure a higher level of English.
Rules will also be laid out for adult dependants, meaning they will have to demonstrate a basic understanding of the language.
The plans also call for stricter tests for colleges and universities offering places to foreign students and a reduction in the time graduates can remain in the UK after their studies from two years to 18 months.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
