off-the-wire

UPDATE 3-Abu Dhabi financial centre expands in non-oil growth push

Kitco Media
By Reuters
Published:
Updated:
Reuters
(Adds new economic data, paragraph 2) ABU DHABI, May 8 (Reuters) - The Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) financial free zone said on Monday it will expand its area of jurisdiction by ten times, part of a push to make the sector a major economic contributor. Abu Dhabi's Statistics Centre said separately on Monday that the emirate's economy grew by 9.3% last year and that non-oil sectors made up half of gross domestic product (GDP).


The expansion of the international financial centre of the UAE capital Abu Dhabi comes as the UAE vies with a rapidly opening Saudi Arabia to be the go-to destination for economic activity in a region moving away from oil.


ADGM said the addition of al-Reem Island to its current location on al-Maryah Island would create one of the largest concentrated financial districts in the world. Founded in October 2015, ADGM said it has 5,500 business licences operating within it.


Abu Dhabi wants to increase its non-oil exports by 143% to 178.8 billion dirhams ($49 billion) by 2031, Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development Chairman Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi told a conference.
($1 = 3.6720 UAE dirham)
(Reporting by Rachna Uppal; Writing by Lisa Barrington, Editing by Louise Heavens, Ed Osmond and Alexander Smith)

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