(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Growth momentum to continue through 2015.
Shaikh Ahmed Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim Shayne Nelson Tim Fox and Luke Thompson during the launch of the Dubai Economy Tracker on Tuesday. Supplied photo
Dubai: Dubai’s private sector economies witnessed a positive month in April and companies also believed that the growth momentum would continue over the next 12 months.
Last month the private sector’s output and new business volumes increased robustly revealed in a first-of-its-kind survey by Emirates NBD.
Produced by Markit the Dubai Economy Tracker is based on data compiled from monthly replies to questionnaires sent to senior executives in approximately 600 private sector companies with representation almost all sectors of the Dubai economy including manufacturing services construction and retail according to top officials of the bank.
The bank also announced that it would expand the trackers’ network by sponsoring the Purchasing Managers’ Index surveys of the UAE Saudi Arabia and Egypt. The new survey was launched in conjunction with the Emirates NBD Dubai Real Estate Tracker.
The new trackers were unveiled by Shaikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum Chairman of Emirates NBD President of the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority Chairman of Emirates airline and Chief Executive of the Emirates Group who said “In the last decade Dubai’s economy has become one of the most vibrant and diversified in the region. Revenues from the non-oil sector continue to grow and this new report will provide a useful window on emergent trends and opportunities as Dubai continues on its path to growth as a global hub for business trade real estate and tourism.”
There were signs that growth momentum has slowed from its peak seen at the start of 2015 it said adding: “Of the three key sub-sectors monitored by the survey the fastest pace of output expansion was recorded in construction. Looking ahead travel and tourism companies are the most optimistic about the year-ahead business outlook.”
Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim vice-chairman of Emirates NBD said: “As a home-grown brand… Emirates NBD has played an integral role in Dubai’s growth story. The Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker reflects our commitment to steer and support the emirate’s development and progress.'
Shayne Nelson chief executive officer of Emirates NBD said: “We can now provide a timely and useful tool that will arm analysts and policy makers with a useful and timely dataset that helps them to better understand economic conditions and the opportunities they represent.”
Tim Fox chief economist of Emirates NBD added: “With our footprint in the Mena region and with Markit’s global expertise at producing highly recognised data we believe that the Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker and the Dubai Real Estate Tracker will provide important new sources of reliable and timely information about the state of the Dubai economy.”
Luke Thompson managing director of Markit said: “We are confident that both surveys will quickly establish themselves as key performance indicators in the region by providing timely and accurate data on economic conditions.”
The seasonally-adjusted Emirates NBD Dubai Business Activity Index posted 57.2 in April down from 60.6 in March but still well above the 50.0 mark that separates expansion from contraction. The latest reading pointed to a strong expansion of business activity but the index was still the lowest since October 2013. By sector the greatest slowdown was seen in travel and tourism (index fell to 52.3 in April) while construction (59.6) and wholesale and retail (58.4) were the best-performing categories monitored by the survey.
Staff hiring patterns also slowed across the Dubai private sector with the latest increase in employment the least marked since August 2013. Jobs growth moderated in all three sub-sectors tracked by the survey.
Softer new business gains were the main reason for the moderation in output growth and job hiring across the Dubai private sector in April. A number of survey respondents cited greater risk aversion among clients despite improving underlying market conditions. Wholesale and retail was the only sub-sector to avoid the wider slowdown in new business growth.
Looking ahead Dubai private sector companies are highly optimistic about their prospects for growth. Around ten times as many firms (38 per cent) forecast a rise in output over the next 12 months as those that anticipate a decline (four per cent).
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