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UAE's Banking Sector Achieves Record Growth in 2005

Posted on: Thursday, 19 January 2006, 18:00 CST

The UAE's banking and financial sectors achieved record growth rates in 2005, fueled by rising oil revenues as well as the double investment value of the securities market on the other.

Also as a result of soaring oil prices, the UAE's gross domestic product (GDP) grew to some AED 443 billion in 2005 up from AED378.7 billion the previous year, according to Arab News.

This reflects an increase of some 17 percent, as compared to an average growth rate worldwide of only 4.3 percent during the same period as predicted by the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

The UAE remains in second place amongst the world's largest Arab economies, second only to Saudi Arabia.

Both the country's oil sector as well as non-oil sector is thought to be responsible for the impressive growth, as oil revenues helped streamline all non-oil economic sectors.

Oil revenues contributed 176 billion AED to the country's GDP in 2005, accounting for 39.7 percent of its total, while in 2004, this figure stood at 32.1 percent, with AED 123.2 billion.

Meanwhile, the contribution of non-oil revenue to the UAE's GDP dropped from 67.5 percent in 2004 to 60.3 percent 2004. This, despite the fact that the total contribution during the same period rose from AED 255.5 billion in 2004 to AED 267 billion in 2005.

2006 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)

Source: Al Bawaba

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