Dubai economy to rebound 2 percent in 2010 The economy of Dubai is expected to grow 2-3 percent in 2010 after contracting about 2 percent this year due to slowing real estate and construction sectors, a senior government official was quoted as saying on Friday. Sami Al-Qamzi, the head of the economic development department, told the state television the economy shrank 1.47 percent in the first half of 2009, Al-Ittihad and Al-Khaleej newspapers reported. This year s slowdown will be partly offset by a 9.1 percent growth in the financial sector and a 5.9 percent expansion in the consumer goods industry, Qamzi added. Dubai, which enjoyed years of stellar property-fuelled growth until the end of 2008, alarmed global markets on Nov. 25 when it asked for a repayment freeze on billions of dollars worth of debt issued by state-owned conglomerate Dubai World. The issue raised concerns about the economy of the regional trade and business hub, one of seven members in the United Arab Emirates federation. The federation s economy was seen rising 2.9 percent next year, after a 1.1 percent contraction in 2009, well below a nearly 8 percent average expansion in the previous three years, a Reuters poll showed ahead of Dubai s debt announcement. Dubai s property boom was brought to a grinding halt after the global financial crisis hit the market of the emirate s major developments that include man-made islands. Developers in the emirate delayed or cancelled developments worth tens of billions of dollars, a move that weighed on the construction and mortgage sectors. Qamzi was reported as saying the Dubai economy may grow by as much as five percent in 2011. Earlier this month, a senior official at the International Monetary Fund said it might revise its growth forecast for the UAE s non-oil gross domestic product to significantly lower than the three percent it had projected in October. Abu Dhabi is the UAE s largest member and is the main oil producers in the country, the world s third-largest oil exporter. - Reuters Kuwait to seek UAE, Oman return to monetary union Kuwait will seek the return of the United Arab Emirates and Oman to the Gulf Arab unified currency plan, the official KUNA news agency reported on Friday citing the country s finance minister. This would strengthen the economies of the region and turn it into an economic bloc of (importance) that would be taken into consideration globally, said Mustapha al-Shamali. In May, the UAE broke ranks with four other Gulf Arab states by withdrawing from the single currency plan in protest at a decision to base the joint central bank in Saudi Arabia, the largest Arab economy. Oman opted out of the monetary union in 2006 and the GCC has since acknowledged it would miss the 2010 single currency deadline. Kuwait will work towards bringing back the two countries through its presidency of the Gulf Cooperation Council and its summit set for Dec. 14-16, Shamali said without giving details. In 2001, the six members of the GCC had agreed to set up a monetary union in the world s top oil exporting region like that of the European Union. The GCC is a loose economic and political alliance that also includes Bahrain and Qatar. Members rotate the presidency of the group annually. The UAE, the second largest Arab economy, said in May that it would consider rejoining the monetary union if the terms change and its neighbors agree to allow a joint central bank to be based in the country. Five of the six nations peg their currencies to the U.S. dollar but a range of technical issues such as harmonization of banking regulations remain to be tackled in order for them to share a new currency, which is seen raising the bloc s economic weight as well as reducing costs for businesses. - Reuters Qatar offers Feb. 10 Al Shaheen cargoes Qatar offered 10 cargoes of Al Shaheen crude for February loading in its monthly tender, traders said on Friday, the highest tendered amount in over six years, as more production is expected come on stream in the first quarter. The tender closes on Dec. 15, with bids remaining valid until Dec. 18 Qatar International Petroleum Marketing Co, also known as Tasweeq, last month sold nine 600,000-barrel cargoes of Al Shaheen at between parity and a discount of 50 cents a barrel to Dubai quotes. Tasweeq takes over crude oil marketing from Qatar Petroleum (QP) from January-loading cargoes. Before this, Qatar usually offered five to six cargoes of Al Shaheen crude in its monthly tender this year. But the volumes fell to only two cargoes for November loading, which traders attributed to some production problems at the field, though this was not confirmed. An executive at Maersk Oil Qatar, which has a stake in the offshore Al Shaheen field, said last month additional oil production from the field was expected to come online in the first quarter of 2010. - Reuters Turkey plans Samurai bond sale Turkey plans to sell yen-denominated Samurai bonds next year, Treasury sources said on Friday, diversifying a borrowing program which will still rely largely on the sale of domestic debt and Eurobonds. Turkey would issue the Samurai bonds under a Japanese program which guarantees debt issued by emerging countries with ratings below investment grade and is now waiting for more information from Tokyo, the sources said. - Reuters
