Dubai-Mubasher: The continuous drop in oil prices will not alter Dubai’s spending or investment plans, although the emirate’s banks may face challenges in expanding their conventional revenue streams in 2016, according to Mohammad al-Shaibani, chief executive of state-owned Investment Corporation of Dubai (ICD)
On the sidelines of a press conference, he said that the oil sector makes up 2% or less of Dubai’s economy, yet the energy sector is a key determinant of business confidence in the wider Gulf.
The emirate’s Department of Finance has no immediate plans to raise debt, he said, adding that it should really balance the budget.
He noted that the country’s growth is backed by services and is more or less enough to support the budget.
ICD owns stakes in Dubai’s major lenders Emirates NBD and Dubai Islamic Bank.
“I don’t think we’ll have a lot of NPLs on the balance sheet because I think the banks have learned a good lesson and they are very careful,” noted Shaibani.
He expected that the banks to do really well this year and the results to be very positive. However, next year will be slightly challenging.
