On Thursday, taking forward the process of economic recovery the UAE launched its third stimulus package worth AED1.5 billion, to ease the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and mitigate financial pressure faced by businesses. The package was approved and unveiled by Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. The three packages in total injected 6.3 billion dirhams in Dubai, second-largest and second-wealthiest member of the UAE federation. The Dubai government’s first stimulus package announced on March 12 was worth AED1.5 billion while the second launched on March 29 was worth AED3.3 billion.

On Saturday, Emirati crown prince, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al-Maktoum, while sharing the new stimulus package’s information on Twitter, highlighted how the government launched a focused plan in order to alleviate all the sectors of economy as they got marred by the lockdown imposed to control the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.

"Our economy is strong, has a stable foundation and has shown high resilience to crises, all of which enable us to effectively navigate any global challenge. We stand together with the private sector to overcome the impact of the pandemic. We are keen to help businesses renew their growth momentum as soon as possible," Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed said.

In the sudden change of events thrust upon the world due to the pandemic outbreak, Sheikh Hamdan advised the investors and entrepreneurs to continue exploring new opportunities with respect to changing global markets. To empower the SME sector in its preparation of future, government launched the current stimulus along with boosting several other new initiatives. SME’s comprise 99% of all companies operating in Dubai, 46% of the GDP and 51% of the emirate's workforce.

Sheikh Hamdan added, "SMEs constitute a highly strategic sector and are a major contributor to the emirate's GDP. Supporting this sector in tiding over the current challenges is vital to accelerate our progress towards a diversified knowledge-based economy,"

The latest government initiatives included cancelling certain fines imposed by the government and the customs department, like halving of ‘Tourism Dirham Fee’ until the year end, providing tax reimbursements to hotels and restaurants, guaranteed refunds to the construction sector and acquitting private schools from licensing renewal fees.

The package launched by the Dubai government was welcomed by its business community as the much needed intervention to give them confidence and strength to rebuild themselves. Dubai’s recent financial package came in addition to the UAE central banks initiatives launched to ease the lending process and increase liquidity in the market.

WAM