5% growth is expected in the emirate’s economy next year

Abu Dhabi begins providing loan guarantees to small enterprises at 3 billion dirhams

Rashid Al Balushi.

From the source

The Department of Economic Development in Abu Dhabi revealed the start of providing loan guarantees to small and medium enterprises, worth three billion dirhams, through the loan guarantee fund directed to these institutions.

The department’s agent, Rashid Abdul Karim Al Balushi, said in a hypothetical symposium yesterday entitled "An Overview of Abu Dhabi Economy" that the fund replaces banks in providing loan guarantees to small enterprises that have highly feasible projects to finance them, thus becoming the main engine of Abu Dhabi's economy.

He added that Abu Dhabi’s economy is expected to grow by 5% during the next year, with the emirate’s strategy focusing on diversifying the economy, noting that the non-oil sector constitutes about 50% of the emirate’s GDP.

He stated that the growth rate is expected to decline by 3.5% this year, as a result of the repercussions of the "Covid-19" pandemic, the slowdown in economic activity and the global closure, despite the solid strategy and the huge projects that were to be implemented to boost growth in the emirate.

Al Balushi explained that Abu Dhabi gives priority, at the present time, to supporting technology and innovation, developing the knowledge base, and stimulating the private sector, in order to achieve a high growth rate.

For his part, Tariq bin Hindi, Director General of the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, said that the "Covid-19" pandemic has allowed Abu Dhabi to verify the resilience of its economy in the face of various challenges, pointing out that workers in the emirate constitute a source of great strength for it.

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