Hedge funds setting up operations in Abu Dhabi have contributed to a 12% uplift on an annual basis in the GDP of the emirate’s private, non-oil economy to expand to a quarterly record of AED154bn ($41.9bn), according to a report by Bloomberg.
The report cites preliminary government data for the UAE Capital city as revealing that overall economic output, which is heavily dependent on oil and gas production, rose 3.5% during the quarter.
Abu Dhabi’s financial sector has now grown by nearly 30% year-on-year as several major firms, including Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Brevan Howard Asset Management and Ray Dalio’s family office, have either opened offices in the city, or moved senior executives there this year.
According to Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, Abu Dhabi is aiming to boost its annual non-oil exports to nearly $50bn by 2031, by focusing on the food-processing, pharmaceuticals and chemicals sectors, as well as international finance
