Abu Dhabi’s economy to grow 2.5% over 2019-20: S&P

Abu Dhabi’s economy will grow on an average of 2.5 percent over 2019-2022, S&P Global Ratings said in a report on Sunday.

“We forecast gradually rising real GDP growth, on the back of recovering oil production and a revival in investment.  We expect regional geopolitical tensions will, on balance, have a limited impact on Abu Dhabi, and expect continued domestic stability,” it said.

The ratings agency assigned “stable” outlook on Abu Dhabi, stating the emirate’s fiscal position will remain strong over the next two years, although structural and institutional weaknesses will likely persist.

S&P expects that growth will rise to three percent by 2022, helped by investment in the oil and non-oil sectors, and recovering domestic credit growth bolstered by improving demand in the region.

“We assume that ADNOC will gradually increase production, in line with its target to increase capacity to four million barrels per day (bpd) by 2020 and five million bpd by 2030, from 3.1 million bpd currently,” the report noted.