Abu Dhabi challenges global credit crunch

The emirate's entire production and development wheel continued turning in spite of the current global credit crunch, thanks to the wise policies adopted by its leadership, led by the Executive Council, under the chairmanship of H.H General Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces and as stipulated by the Emirate's strategy "Plan Abu Dhabi 2030" and "Economic Vision 2030".

A number of international economic and financial research organizations issued reports and studies indicating that the emirate's entire economic sectors were growing persistently in spite of the on-going economic downturn.

"The Report: Abu Dhabi 2009", of the Oxford Business Group "OBG", said that the Emirate's government spending has risen by 12% to Dhs42.2bn this year. The Emirate still enjoys a strong economic and credit position despite oil price plunging in the international markets, which is the main source of Emirate's income. The report also indicated that Abu Dhabi will be in a very strong position when the global market picks up, thanks to the ability of its government to continue to fund major infrastructure projects and keep its development strategy. This is evident in on-going works in a number of mega-projects in the emirate, such as 'Shaikh Zayed National Museum', 'Guggenheim Abu Dhabi Museum', the 'Louvre Abu Dhabi' and the 'Performing Arts Centre', all of which are located in the Cultural District of the Saadiyat Island.

Also, the emirate is starting the initial studies for the Abu Dhabi Metro Project, investment in heavy industries with aim of diversifying the emirate's economy and the introduction of renewable energy sources as a substitute for oil and natural gas.

These achievements have their reflection on the emirate's employment market, as the online recruitment firm GulfTalent.com said that Abu Dhabi is leading the recovery from the economic downturn in Gulf careers and employment, now accounting for 23% of all advertised jobs in the GCC. The report added that over the first six months of this year the UAE capital's share of jobs advertised in the region grew by 9% compared to the same period of the last year, while other GCC countries experienced either drop or modest increase in the number of jobs advertised.
The report also indicated that the emirate has allocated 37% and 23% of its total spending for the social services and education, respectively, which are huge amounts compared to what is done by other countries.

The Government of Abu Dhabi has earlier injected Dhs120bn in local banking sector to help it cope with the current global credit crunch.