"HSBC"Economic momentum in the Emirates is continuing and investment leads growth

Dubai, May 6 / WAM / Simon Williams, chief economist for the Central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa at HSBC, confirmed that expectations are still constructive about the performance of the economy of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, especially the UAE, in the coming years, despite the challenges related to the most difficult global environment.
He explained in statements to the Emirates News Agency “WAM” on the sidelines of the activities of the third edition of the summit of capital markets in the Middle East and North Africa region, which started today that the Gulf states, especially the Emirates, entered into 2025 with economic momentum, driven by the growth of consumption and investment, noting that this dynamic is a candidate to continue during the coming period.
He pointed out that the budgets of Gulf countries are still strong, and that the structural reforms that have been implemented over the past five years raise the potential growth rates that allow them to deal with external shocks.
With regard to growth expectations, Williams said that the total economic growth numbers will depend on the oil market, while expected that the non -oil sector in the UAE will record a growth ranging from 3.5% to 4% during the years 2025 and 2026, which he considered very good at the global level.
On the impact of the trade war and customs definitions, he said that no one profits from these tensions in the global trade system, given that trade is a major engine for global growth, explaining that the long term may witness companies re -thinking about the decisions to allocate capital and foreign direct investment sites, as a result of transformations in the trade system.
With regard to his forecasts regarding foreign direct investment flows to the UAE during the years 2025 and 2026, Williams explained that the investment levels were very strong during the past three years, as it reached about 4 to 5% of the gross domestic product, which is a global high number.
On the summit of capital markets, Williams stressed its importance as a platform that brings together policymakers and participants in the market, financial institutions and companies, to discuss the ongoing changes, available opportunities, as well as weaknesses.
To that, “HSBC” in the United Arab Emirates issued today, during the summit, a new report entitled “The Expanding Strategy: Dubai Plan for the Development of the Capital Market”, stressing that the capital markets in Dubai play a pivotal role in achieving the emirate’s ambition to become among the four best global financial centers.
The report highlighted how rapid internationalization of stock and bond markets, as well as comprehensive structural reform programs, can bring Dubai to reach its goal of becoming among the best financial centers in the world, as shown in Dubai’s economic vision for 2033.
The report was held in partnership with the Dubai Financial Market, to be a guide for new investors entering the market.
The report explores the expansion of the capital markets in Dubai and its universality, including potential improvements to the flows of deals and cash liquidity in the secondary market, and technological initiatives to enhance the financing system. Between 2016 and 2024, the Dubai Financial Market of Investors provided higher returns than the MSCI index for the broader emerging market 4.9% compared to 2.8% for the broader emerging market index.
Foreign investors acquired half of the total trading in the Dubai Financial Market at the end of 2024, and represented 85% of the total investors registered in the market in the same year, which reflects the attractiveness of Dubai at the global level.
In 2024, the number of wealth managers and assets working in the Dubai International Financial Center increased by 16% on an annual basis to reach 410 managers, including 75 managers of investment hedge funds, and 48 of them manage assets that are worth more than one billion US dollars, confirming the change of the form of international investors.
In 2024, Dubai acquired 2.2% of the volume of general global subscriptions for the initial offering, and hosted a subscription process for a request platform, which specializes in delivering dining, grocery and retail requests, which is the largest public subscription process for the initial proposal in the technology sector in the world for this year.

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