Abu Dhabi’s economy expanded by 11.2 per cent in the first six months of this year on an annual basis, driven by a robust performance of the oil and non-oil sectors, despite mounting global macroeconomic challenges.
The size of the emirate's real gross domestic product at constant prices surpassed Dh543 billion ($147.9 billion) at the end of the six-month period, the Abu Dhabi Media Office said on Thursday as it cited the latest government data released by the Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi (SCAD).
The value of non-oil GDP grew by Dh28.4 billion to Dh273 billion at the end of the first half of 2022.
Abu Dhabi's economy expanded 11.7 per cent on an annual basis in the second quarter of this year, hitting the highest three-month value in six years, the centre said without giving further details.
“Positive growth rates in Abu Dhabi reflect the profound strength and success of the economic diversification policy, which contributed to the economy's resilience and ability to address global changes posed by geopolitical and economic factors that directly affected strategic sectors such as energy and international trade,” said Mohamed Al Shorafa, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development.
The emirate continues to reap the benefits of policies that have strengthened the “pillars and foundations of the economy” and helped it to maintain “competitive performance while attracting investments with more initiatives to achieve the strategic objectives”, he said.
Abu Dhabi’s economy, which made a strong rebound last year from the coronavirus-induced slowdown, has gained further momentum this year.
In May, S&P forecast that Abu Dhabi's real GDP growth would accelerate to more than 5 per cent in 2022, with real GDP reaching 2019 levels in 2023.
However, Mr Al Shorafa said earlier this month that the emirate’s economy was set to grow at par with the UAE economy this year.
The UAE Central Bank expects the country’s economy to grow 5.4 per cent this year.
The International Monetary Fund has projected a 6 per cent economic expansion, driven by a rebound in tourism, construction and activity related to Expo 2020 Dubai.
Emirates NBD recently raised its growth forecast for the UAE economy to 7 per cent in 2022 while Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank has projected growth of 6.5 per cent.
According to the latest SCAD data, the oil sector, including mining and quarrying activities, accounted for 49.7 per cent of Abu Dhabi’s GDP during the first half of 2022.
Non-oil sector activities contributed 50.3 per cent, despite a sharp rise in global oil prices that contributed to the emirate’s oil revenue during the period.
“The increase in the non-oil sector's contribution to the real GDP proves the success of the ambitious strategic plans for diversifying the economic base in Abu Dhabi,” SCAD said.
Positive growth rates in Abu Dhabi reflect the profound strength and success of the economic diversification policy, which contributed to the economy's resilience and ability to address global changes
Mohamed Al Shorafa,
chairman of Added
The manufacturing sector, which accounted for 8.1 per cent of Abu Dhabi's GDP, grew more than 10 per cent on an annual basis during the first half.
The construction and building sector contributed 7.7 per cent, followed by wholesale and retail sector activity, which accounted for 5.9 per cent of GDP.
Meanwhile, financial sector activities contributed 5.5 per cent to the emirate's economy in the first half of this year, growing 9.1 per cent on an annual basis during the period, according to SCAD data.
The “remarkable growth rates in the non-oil sectors” during the first half of 2022 reflect a “competitive outlook of Abu Dhabi's business ecosystem”, said Added Undersecretary Rashed Al Balooshi.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Teams
Punjabi Legends Owners: Inzamam-ul-Haq and Intizar-ul-Haq; Key player: Misbah-ul-Haq
Pakhtoons Owners: Habib Khan and Tajuddin Khan; Key player: Shahid Afridi
Maratha Arabians Owners: Sohail Khan, Ali Tumbi, Parvez Khan; Key player: Virender Sehwag
Bangla Tigers Owners: Shirajuddin Alam, Yasin Choudhary, Neelesh Bhatnager, Anis and Rizwan Sajan; Key player: TBC
Colombo Lions Owners: Sri Lanka Cricket; Key player: TBC
Kerala Kings Owners: Hussain Adam Ali and Shafi Ul Mulk; Key player: Eoin Morgan
Venue Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Format 10 overs per side, matches last for 90 minutes
Timeline October 25: Around 120 players to be entered into a draft, to be held in Dubai; December 21: Matches start; December 24: Finals
Volunteers offer workers a lifeline
Community volunteers have swung into action delivering food packages and toiletries to the men.
When provisions are distributed, the men line up in long queues for packets of rice, flour, sugar, salt, pulses, milk, biscuits, shaving kits, soap and telecom cards.
Volunteers from St Mary’s Catholic Church said some workers came to the church to pray for their families and ask for assistance.
Boxes packed with essential food items were distributed to workers in the Dubai Investments Park and Ras Al Khaimah camps last week. Workers at the Sonapur camp asked for Dh1,600 towards their gas bill.
“Especially in this year of tolerance we consider ourselves privileged to be able to lend a helping hand to our needy brothers in the Actco camp," Father Lennie Connully, parish priest of St Mary’s.
Workers spoke of their helplessness, seeing children’s marriages cancelled because of lack of money going home. Others told of their misery of being unable to return home when a parent died.
“More than daily food, they are worried about not sending money home for their family,” said Kusum Dutta, a volunteer who works with the Indian consulate.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
Company%20profile
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What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying or online bullying could take many forms such as sending unkind or rude messages to someone, socially isolating people from groups, sharing embarrassing pictures of them, or spreading rumors about them.
Cyberbullying can take place on various platforms such as messages, on social media, on group chats, or games.
Parents should watch out for behavioural changes in their children.
When children are being bullied they they may be feel embarrassed and isolated, so parents should watch out for signs of signs of depression and anxiety
Huroob Ezterari
Director: Ahmed Moussa
Starring: Ahmed El Sakka, Amir Karara, Ghada Adel and Moustafa Mohammed
Three stars
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (all kick-offs UAE time)
Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (10.30pm)
Saturday
Freiburg v Werder Bremen (5.30pm)
Paderborn v Hoffenheim (5.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Borussia Dortmund (5.30pm)
Borussia Monchengladbach v Bayer Leverkusen (5.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Eintracht Frankfurt (5.30pm)
Sunday
Schalke v Augsburg (3.30pm)
Mainz v RB Leipzig (5.30pm)
Cologne v Fortuna Dusseldorf (8pm)
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Queen
Nicki Minaj
(Young Money/Cash Money)
THE%20STRANGERS'%20CASE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3A%20Brandt%20Andersen%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOmar%20Sy%2C%20Jason%20Beghe%2C%20Angeliki%20Papoulia%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE SQUAD FOR ASIAN JIU-JITSU CHAMPIONSHIP
Men’s squad: Faisal Al Ketbi, Omar Al Fadhli, Zayed Al Kathiri, Thiab Al Nuaimi, Khaled Al Shehhi, Mohamed Ali Al Suwaidi, Farraj Khaled Al Awlaqi, Muhammad Al Ameri, Mahdi Al Awlaqi, Saeed Al Qubaisi, Abdullah Al Qubaisi and Hazaa Farhan
Women's squad: Hamda Al Shekheili, Shouq Al Dhanhani, Balqis Abdullah, Sharifa Al Namani, Asma Al Hosani, Maitha Sultan, Bashayer Al Matrooshi, Maha Al Hanaei, Shamma Al Kalbani, Haya Al Jahuri, Mahra Mahfouz, Marwa Al Hosani, Tasneem Al Jahoori and Maryam Al Amri
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
