DUBAI (Reuters) – The United Arab Emirates (UAE) saw revenue increase 31.8% in revenue in 2022, its finance minister said on Sunday, supporting an overall fiscal surplus last year.
One of the Gulf’s most diversified economies, the UAE has been developing its non-oil sectors, focusing on areas such as trade, tourism, manufacturing and logistics and financial services.
Spending increased 6.1% in 2022 on the year to stand at about 427 billion dirhams ($116 billion), state news agency WAM said, citing the finance minister, Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.
“Despite the increase in revenues, the UAE has maintained a cautious and rational spending policy,” it said, adding that the surplus would allow for stronger fiscal buffers to mitigate potential financial risks.
It gave no figure for the full-year fiscal surplus but in May the central bank said the surplus hit $46 billion in the first nine months of 2022, supported by strong oil and non-oil revenue growth as well as high oil prices.
Growth in acquisitions of non-financial assets doubled, up 94.5% in 2022 on the year.
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($1=3.6726 UAE dirham)
(Reporting by Rachna Uppal; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)