FEDERATION OF EURO-ASIAN STOCK EXCHANGES
ANNUAL REPORT APRIL 2009
ABU DHABI SECURITIES EXCHANGE
ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL DEVELOPMENTS
Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030
Seeking to ensure the continued success of the
Emirate’s development, the Government of Abu Dhabi
has set guidelines and priorities for the Emirate’s
socio-economic progress in its Policy Agenda. Taking
these guidelines as its parameters, the Abu Dhabi
Economic Vision 2030 has been developed by the
Government, in consultation with the private sector, as
a 22-year strategy to achieve these aims, and to
ensure that all stakeholders in the economy are
moving in concert, with a clear view of the long-term
goals.
Nine pillars of the Economic Vision 2030:
1. A large empowered private sector
2. A sustainable knowledge-based economy
3. An optimal, transparent regulatory environment
4. A continuation of strong and diverse international
relationships
5. The optimization of the Emirate’s resources
6. Premium education, healthcare and infrastructure
assets
7. Complete international and domestic security
8. Maintaining Abu Dhabi’s values, culture and
Heritage
9. A significant and ongoing contribution to the
federation of the UAE
The Government has committed itself to direct public
policy to strengthen and develop them. This involves
focusing on four key priority areas:
1. Economic Development: The Government wishes
to see the creation of higher-value employment
opportunities, especially for ationals, and maximizing
participation of women in the workforce. To
encourage investment and entrepreneurial activity, the
Government plans to contribute to enhancing the
business environment through further legislative
reform and by ensuring that all economic policy is
formulated with reference to rigorous data sources
and statistical information. Enhancing the economy
and business climate will also help to integrate Abu
Dhabi further into the global economy by attracting
foreign as well as local investment, and by facilitating
export of capital through targeted investments with
international partners.
2. Social and Human Resources Development:
Ensuring that high quality education and health
services are available to residents is of the highest
priority. When it comes to developing the workforce,
the Government aims to ensure the availability of a
stable supply of high quality labor to staff the
economy, and especially to encourage full
employment among Nationals. At the same time, Abu
Dhabi wishes to maintain ethical and safe
management of its labor resources, through the
thorough implementation of Federal labor laws and
the meeting of commitments made through the UAE’s
signature of international labor arrangements.
3. Infrastructure Development and Environmental
Sustainability: The Government will ensure the
development of a professionally designed and well-
managed urban environment in the Emirate’s towns
and cities, complete with world-class traffic and
transport systems. The simultaneous development of
the Regions to keep pace with that of the Capital is
also an important policy priority in order to achieve an
Emirate-wide distribution of economic activity and
associated benefits.
4. Optimization of Government Operations:
The Government has already embarked on an
extensive review of its processes and structures.
Many services are being delivered electronically
through e-government initiatives, and departments are
being streamlined and non-core services outsourced
to the private sector. At the same time, the
Government will review and enhance the legislative
framework and the law-making processes themselves
to ensure maximum efficiency.
Economic performance
Abu Dhabi currently enjoys an enviable position:
economic growth is accelerating; per capita income is
one of the highest in the world. The Emirate’s chief
export, crude oil, is enjoying a period of ever-stronger
demand, fetching high prices on the international
market. Economic growth is currently coupled too
closely with oil prices and the key to more sustainable
development lies in stimulating non-oil sectors,
diversifying the range and depth of economic activity
taking place in the Emirate, and increasing
productivity through a focused approach on Abu
Dhabi’s competitive advantages.
The Drive to Diversify
The Emirate is home to the world’s sixth largest
proven oil reserves, of around 98 billion barrels, and is
the world’s tenth largest producer, at around 2.5
million barrels/day, most of which is for export (more
than US$ 90 billion a year).
Abu Dhabi is a significant global exporter of goods
and services. Over the past decade, Abu Dhabi has
become one of the world’s fastest growing
economies. Real GDP growth reached 12% in 2006
and was as high as 19.4% in 2004. Real GDP per
capita grew an impressive 20% in just four years,
reaching US$ 55,600 in 2005, placing the Emirate
among the world’s highest income economies.
Despite such promising trends, economic growth
shows signs of high volatility - particularly high
compared with benchmark G7 and transformation
economies or even compared with the GCC as a
whole. Not surprisingly, the primary role oil plays in
the economy means that GDP growth tends to be
overly sensitive to fluctuations in the oil price.
As soon as Abu Dhabi furthers its economic
diversification by stimulating non-oil sectors, and
especially into export-oriented businesses, the
volatility in the economy’s growth will in turn start to
decrease. Sectoral diversification alone, however, is
not necessarily enough. In Abu Dhabi, even the non-
oil sectors demonstrate sensitivity to the oil price,
because they tend to be inward-looking and oriented
to the domestic market, and are therefore reliant on
domestic liquidity.
Abu Dhabi’s aim is to stimulate non-oil sectors rather
than to reduce activity in the oil sector. As a major
crude oil producer, the Emirate is committed to
supporting the international economy by playing its
role in ensuring stable oil prices and supplies. As a
result, the oil sector will continue to grow rapidly, and
Abu Dhabi will continue to use its oil wealth to drive
and underpin domestic economic growth. Assuming
that the hydrocarbon sector continues to grow at
historic rates, Abu Dhabi aims to achieve a 64%
contribution to GDP by the non-oil sectors, including
petrochemicals, by 2030, which will reverse the
current pattern of sectoral contribution to GDP.*
* Abu Dhabi Economic data
Key Information Contacts
Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry www.abudhabichamber.ae
Central Bank of UAE www.centralbank.ae
Abu Dhabi Department of planning and Economy www.adeconomy.ae
2005-ORIGINS OF GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (%)
Industry
Agriculture
2005-COMPONENTS OF GROSS DOMESTIC PRODUCT (%)
Services
Private consumption
Fixed investment
Government consumption
Change in stocks
Exports of goods & services
Imports of goods & services
100
46.5
60
40
20
50.6
2.9
90.7
80
0
44.1
11.1
21.3
1.2
-20
-40
-60
-80
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