Dubai on track to top 'ease of doing business' index by 2021

dubai - City also aims to be in the top 10 most competitive countries in the world in the next four years

Dubai is well on track to claim the number one rank in 'ease of doing business' by 2021 and expects to be in the top 10 most competitive countries in the world in the next four years.

Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Second Deputy Chairman of the Executive Council and Chairman of Economic Development Committee, predicted that Dubai would achieve an economic growth of 3.1 per cent in 2017 and 3.6 per cent in 2018 in real terms.

He said Dubai has outperformed global economic growth and defied downward trends that prevailed worldwide in 2016. Dubai's economy is poised to expand further over the next two years, driven by major investments as well as tourism, real estate and manufacturing sectors, he said.

"Nearly 47 contracts worth over Dh11 billion are to be awarded in 2017 for projects at the Expo 2020 site alone. The Public-Private Partnership Law passed in 2015 has further stimulated greater private sector involvement in Dubai's construction market," said Sheikh Ahmed.

The results of Dubai Plan 2021 Annual Report 'Dubai Pulse' highlight that the economic performance of the emirate is better than other economies in the region, and that Dubai's stable macroeconomic environment, its diversification and sustainability policies, growth strategies and infrastructure initiatives continue to fuel outstanding economic performance even when the global economy faces headwinds, said Sheikh Ahmed.

"Diversification, resilience and sustainability are enshrined in every project, policy and strategy that Dubai adopts, including, for example, the Dubai Plan 2021, Dubai Industrial Strategy 2030 and Expo 2020. The oil sector now makes up for less than one per cent of Dubai's GDP, while varied initiatives have opened up unprecedented opportunities for global businesses in several non-oil sectors," said Sheikh Ahmed.

Opinion polls point to strong consumer confidence in Dubai's economy, with Dubai's Consumer Confidence Index reaching 138 points in 2016.  

He said continuous improvements in the routes, capacity, frequency, quality of service and competitiveness of air and sea access brought 15 million overnight visitors to Dubai during 2016, up five per cent compared to 2015. This growth is especially good compared to the four per cent growth in global tourism, and a decline of four per cent in the Middle East tourism sector, according to the World Tourism Organisation.

Sheikh Ahmed said large investments in travel, tourism, leisure and hospitality sectors would continue to attract more visitors in line with Dubai's strategy to welcome 20 million visitors by 2020.

The GCC, India, UK and Germany, the traditional source markets, account for 40 per cent of Dubai's total visitors. Average spending per visitor increased to Dh8,658 in 2016 from Dh8,252 in 2015. Total spending grew by 7.6 per cent reaching Dh126 billion, while the average length of stay per visitor was seven days.

Sami Al Qamzi, director-general of Dubai Economy, said the stable, transparent and healthy macroeconomic environment, highly developed infrastructure and strong institutions continue to provide the bedrock for a higher, more diversified and sustainable growth path for Dubai.

Trade accounted for 28 per cent of Dubai's GDP in 2016 followed by transportation and logistics at 12 per cent and financial services at 11 per cent. The local tourism sector grew by 11 per cent in 2016, and is expected to record further growth in the coming years, growing at five and 5.1 per cent in 2017 and 2018, respectively.

The real estate sector is projected to grow by 4.3 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively in 2017 and 2018, while the manufacturing sector is anticipated to grow by 3.3 per cent and 4.1 per cent this year and next, underpinned by the Dubai Industrial Strategy. Dubai is playing a major and increasingly sophisticated role in regional and global value chains through transport, distribution, marketing services and research and development.

The transportation sector will also be a key driver of construction sector growth as large investment projects are moving forward, including the Etihad Rail project, the Dubai Metro extension project and the expansion of the container port in Jebel Ali.

The UAE climbed 13 places in the World Bank Doing Business report between 2014 and 2017 and now stands at 26 among 190 economies and first in the Arab region. The Global Entrepreneurship Index, which measures the health of the entrepreneurship ecosystems in 137 countries annually, placed the UAE 19th in the world and again, first in the Arab world.

- issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com