Fitch Ratings decided to affirm the UAE’s long-term sovereign rating at AA-, while giving it a stable outlook.
The global agency confirmed that the UAE’s classification reflects the level of the country’s unified public debt, strong net foreign assets, and high per capita GDP.
She indicated that this classification benefits from the net foreign sovereign assets of the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, which is among the highest among countries in the world, and the classification also applies to the federal government of the UAE.
Fitch expects the UAE’s consolidated budget to achieve a surplus of 4.6 percent of GDP during the current year, after achieving 11.1 percent in 2022.
It also estimated that the average fiscal break-even price of oil in the UAE would be $62 per barrel between 2023 and 2025, and that the combined surplus would reach 3.7 percent of GDP in 2024 and 3.4 percent in 2025.
“The growth of the UAE’s gross domestic product will slow to 2.1 percent in 2023 and 3.6 percent next year, compared to growth of nearly 8 percent last year,” according to the Fitch report.
Fitch said that the non-oil economy may grow by 3.4 percent, compared to a contraction of oil GDP by 1.4 percent in 2023, which is equivalent to the percentage of the voluntary reduction in which the UAE participates within the “OPEC +” alliance.
Fitch also predicted that the growth of the non-oil economy will slow to 2.7 percent in 2024, but it will remain relatively strong despite global headwinds, supported by government spending and a strong real estate sector.
The oil economy will expand in 2024 due to the high oil production ceiling within the “OPEC +” agreement, according to “Fitch”.
2023-07-14 06:08:41
#Fitch #affirms #UAEs #rating #stable #outlook #Sky #News #Arabia
