Dubai economy to grow by 5 per cent this year

Dubai’s economy is expected to grow around 5 per cent this year, a similar pace to 2013, the head of its statistics office said. Growth in the Gulf emirate, the region’s trade and business hub, picked up strongly last year, buoyed by the prospect of government real estate projects worth tens of billions of dollars following a property market crash in 2008-2010. Dubai accounts for a quarter of output of the UAE economy, with oil-powered Abu Dhabi responsible for around 65 per cent. The UAE, one of the world’s top oil exporters, has yet to release 2013 GDP data. Analysts polled by Reuters in January expected 4.3 per cent growth in both 2013 and 2014.