The Minister of Economy, Sultan bin Saeed al Mansouri, is proposing new measures to shield the economy from the global financial crisis, including reducing interest rates and cutting the cost of doing business.
At a meeting yesterday, Mr al Mansouri also called for the creation of a Common Emergency Committee, responsible for providing recommendations for new ways to deal with the slowdown.
So far, the Government has taken several steps to help protect the financial system from the global crisis, including pledging as much as Dh120bn (US$32.67bn) for local banks, and insuring all interbank transactions. "Though the UAE is committed to a free-market policy, the Government must intervene, where needed," the ministry said in a statement.
"We are committed to addressing the economic challenges and in formulating appropriate solutions. The ministry has set up a special team to study the suggestions by our committees, which will send its report to the Cabinet for approval and implementation," Mr al Mansouri said.
The committee will be responsible for keeping watch on the property sector and the health of the general economy.
Those present at the meeting discussed several possible ways of dealing with the financial crisis, including introducing variable interest rates for businesses in different economic sectors, and increasing the availability of credit for businesses.
"New mechanisms to facilitate bank deposits that will encourage business growth" were also discussed, according to the statement.
The participants said that steps should be taken to ensure that financing could be obtained for "strategic projects", to reduce interest rates, and that the industrial sector in particular should be provided with easier access to credit.
"The global financial crisis demands urgent involvement of the UAE Central Bank in outlining effective monetary policies," the ministry said.
Once the committee agrees on a set of recommendations it will send them to other government bodies for approval.
Mr al Mansouri said that strong economic links between the emirates already had helped to minimise the impact of the financial crisis on the overall economy.
Other measures they outlined included reducing the fees for entry visas and sponsorship transfers, and providing commercial warehouses at lower cost.
Those present also said businesses needed to be more transparent in the disclosure of their financial information if they wanted to attract more foreign investment.
In the past few weeks, the Government has taken several steps to increase financial transparency, including asking local banks to take more care in preparing their 2008 financial statements, and requiring many locally listed companies to provide more details on their investments.
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The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
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Match info:
Burnley 0
Manchester United 2
Lukaku (22', 44')
Red card: Marcus Rashford (Man United)
Man of the match: Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United)
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The biog
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From: Charsadda, Pakistan
Family: Wife and six children
Favourite holes at Al Ghazal: 15 and 8
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Childhood sport: cricket
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
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Saturday: Final practice - 2pm; Qualifying - 5pm
Sunday: Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix (55 laps) - 5.10pm
T10 Cricket League
Sharjah Cricket Stadium
December 14- 17
6pm, Opening ceremony, followed by:
Bengal Tigers v Kerala Kings
Maratha Arabians v Pakhtoons
Tickets available online at q-tickets.com/t10
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The National's picks
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UAE WARRIORS RESULTS
Featherweight
Azouz Anwar (EGY) beat Marcelo Pontes (BRA)
TKO round 2
Catchweight 90kg
Moustafa Rashid Nada (KSA) beat Imad Al Howayeck (LEB)
Split points decision
Welterweight
Gimbat Ismailov (RUS) beat Mohammed Al Khatib (JOR)
TKO round 1
Flyweight (women)
Lucie Bertaud (FRA) beat Kelig Pinson (BEL)
Unanimous points decision
Lightweight
Alexandru Chitoran (ROU) beat Regelo Enumerables Jr (PHI)
TKO round 1
Catchweight 100kg
Marc Vleiger (NED) beat Mohamed Ali (EGY)
Rear neck choke round 1
Featherweight
James Bishop (NZ) beat Mark Valerio (PHI)
TKO round 2
Welterweight
Abdelghani Saber (EGY) beat Gerson Carvalho (BRA)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Bakhtiyar Abbasov (AZE) beat Igor Litoshik (BLR)
Unanimous points decision
Bantamweight
Fabio Mello (BRA) beat Mark Alcoba (PHI)
Unanimous points decision
Welterweight
Ahmed Labban (LEB) v Magomedsultan Magomedsultanov (RUS)
TKO round 1
Bantamweight
Trent Girdham (AUS) beat Jayson Margallo (PHI)
TKO round 3
Lightweight
Usman Nurmagomedov (RUS) beat Roman Golovinov (UKR)
TKO round 1
Middleweight
Tarek Suleiman (SYR) beat Steve Kennedy (AUS)
Submission round 2
Lightweight
Dan Moret (USA) v Anton Kuivanen (FIN)
TKO round 2