Dubai plans record spending to revive flagging economy

Dubai plans record spending to revive the flagging economy

    Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest tower, is seen in a general view of Dubai 

• Dubai unveiled a 2020 budget on Sunday projecting record spending of $18.1 bn

• The Gulf city-state expects revenues too to rise sharply next year as it hosts Expo 2020, the global six-month trade fair set to open on 20 Oct

• Topics

• Dubai Economy

• Dubai: Dubai unveiled a 2020 budget on Sunday projecting record spending of $18.1 billion, up 17 percent on this year, as it seeks to revive its flagging economy.

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• The Gulf city-state expects revenues too to rise sharply next year as it hosts Expo 2020, the global six-month trade fair set to open on 20 October.

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• But it still foresees a deficit for the fourth year in a row of $700 million.

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• The government is hoping that Expo will draw some 25 million visitors, many of them from abroad, and is projecting a 25 percent increase in revenues to $17.4 billion.

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• Dubai is the only government in the Gulf not dependent on hydrocarbon revenues, and projects around 94 percent of income to come from non-oil sources.

• Dubai is renowned for its skyscrapers, like the world's tallest building Burj Khalifa, but its key property sector has been sliding since 2014.

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• Last year, growth slowed to 1.94 percent, less than half the 2017 figure and the worst in a decade.

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• It picked up slightly to 2.1 percent in the first half of this year but the government is keen to do more to stimulate consumer spending and the real estate market.

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