Economy of United Arab Emirates - Research Paper Example

 Final Research Paper - UAE Economy 1. Introduction The historical existence of ‘United Arab Emirates (UAE)’ was identified during the period of 1968 as a result of collaboration between ‘Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan’ and ‘Sheikh Rashid bin Saeed Al Maktoum’. The prime reason for this truce was to safeguard the potential oil–rich reserves of this nation from the dominative intentions of the neighboring global powers such as the US among others. The historical evidence of UAE also projects itself as an open kind of economy, where major emphasis is provided towards welcoming foreign trade practices. In simple words, UAE projects itself as a paradise for carrying out international trade practices for better economic growth (Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, 2009). In alignment to its economic openness, the nation within a confined period of time has successfully attained an appreciable level of economic growth. In this context, it has been identified that UAE has a remarkable economic progress i.e. GDP growth rate of 4.5% in the financial year 2014 irrespective of the massive level of global market competition. In addition, the major reliance of this nation is based on the oil and natural gas reserves, which can be categorized as another crucial factor that appears to have significantly contributed towards the attainment of such high economic progress rate. The nation in the present scenario is identified to possess about 10 per cent of the global oil reserve. In addition, UAE also holds the 5th position as the largest producer of natural gas in the global market space. Likewise, exports of quantifiable amounts of oil and natural gas reserves can be considered as a major form of profit for this nation. Apart from all these, UAE also supplies energy to other allied nations, which in turn also contributes to a significant portion of the nation’s overall GDP rate (John, 2014). In the present scenario, government of UAE intends to balance its reliance on oil and natural gas reserves with the help of other alternative sources of revenue generation. Thus in an associate manner, UAE appears to have projected its intention of bringing about massive development in the areas of tourism and infrastructure development. Appropriate development of the nation’s financial sector can also be categorized under such alternative plans. Apart from all these, subsequent upliftment of the other associated industrial and service sectors also appears to have significant impact on the overall ergonomic growth process of this nation (Trading Economics, 2014). Considering all the above aspects, this research paper majorly aims towards analyzing the economic development pattern of UAE. In order to accomplish the projected aim, it evaluates all the possible imports and exports carried out by this nation in due course of time. Other aspects such as alternative energy development projects and allowance of tariff free trade practices as carried out by UAE will also be taken into consideration for attaining a better understanding of the economic development pattern of UAE. 2. Discussions 2.1. Contribution of Gas industry in the economic growth of UAE The participation of UAE as an active member of the ‘Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)’ and the ‘Gas Exporting Countries Forum (GECF)’ project an active justification regarding the major reliance of UAE on its oil and natural gas reserves. Since the emergent phase of this nation, it has fulfilled an appreciable portion of the global energy requirement. This contribution in an eventual manner has helped UAE in terms of attaining high percentage of economic turnover rates. With reference to the facts as projected by ‘International Monetary Fund (IMF)’, it can be noted that UAE attains approximately 80 per cent of its governmental revenues by relying on its hydrocarbon exports (International Monetary Fund, 2014). The annual revenue generated by UAE through the export of its hydrocarbon reserves between the periods of 2013 to 2019, which is published by IMF is provided hereunder. United Arab Emirates: Selected Macroeconomic Indicators, 2013–19 (Quota: SDR 752.5 million as of Feb. 2014) (Population: 8.8 million, nationals: 1 million) (Per capita GDP-2013: $43,876; poverty rate: NA; unemployment rate: 4.2% (2009)) (Poverty rate: NA) Commodities 2013 (attained) 2014 (projection) 2015 (projection) 2016 (projection) 2017 (projection) 2018 (projection) 2019 (projection) Hydrocarbon sector Exports of oil, oil products, and gas (in billions of U.S. dollars) 123.00 122.5 120.5 116.5 114.6 114.1 114.3 Average crude oil export price (in U.S. dollar per barrel) 110.0 108.0 103.0 98.2 94.9 92.8 91.3 Crude oil production (in millions of barrels per day) 2.7 2.8 2.9 2.9 3.0 3.1 3.1 Source: (International Monetary Fund, 2014) From this provided table, an understanding can be attained regarding the projected decrease in the total quantity of oil and natural gas that will be produced by UAE till the financial year 2019. The decrease in the export of oil and gas can be considered as a sign that the nation intends to increase its reliance on other conventional sources of energy production. The government of UAE has planned to be relied on other conventional sources of energy rather than just remaining confined to its primitive oil based economy irrespective of the fact that the short term economic benefit associated with an oil based economy is much more in comparison to that of the non-oil based economy (International Monetary Fund, 2014). The second table will further help in attaining a detailed understanding of the concept. Output And Total Revenue Attainment Nominal GDP (in billions of UAE dirhams) 1,478 1,550 1,622 1,693 1,791 1,918 2,069 Nominal GDP (in billions of U.S. dollars) 402 422 442 461 488 522 563 Real GDP 5.0 4.7 4.5 4.4 4.4 4.6 4.6 Real hydrocarbon GDP 4.0 3.0 2.3 2.1 1.8 1.8 1.8 Real non-hydrocarbon GDP 5.4 5.5 5.5 5.5 5.6 5.7 5.7 CPI inflation (average) 1.1 2.5 2.8 3.5 4.0 4.5 5.0 Source: (International Monetary Fund, 2014) From the above table, it can be clearly identified that the ‘Nominal GDP’ rate of UAE is likely to increase by the financial year of 2019. This also elaborates about the economic prosperity as perceived by the UAE governing authorities. However, the associated data also reveals about the decreasing rate of ‘Real hydrocarbon GDP’ within the perceived economic time frame. The data also provided an understanding regarding the amount of contribution made by this nation’s hydrocarbon reserves towards its economic development over the past few years (International Monetary Fund, 2014). The elaboration regarding this aspect has been provided hereunder. The ‘Real hydrocarbon GDP’ of UAE for the financial year 2013 has been projected to be high in comparison to that of the estimation made for the other financial years. This elaborated about the major dependency of UAE on the export of its hydrocarbon reserves to attain foreign revenue inflow. In alignment with this financial year, the attained inflation rate within the domestic economy has also been projected to be low i.e. (1.1) as estimated. In accordance with this inflation rate, the per capital income of UAE can also be perceived to be high. Thus in an associated manner, amount of disposable income within UAE’s domestic economy can also be perceived to be high. Considering all these aspects, estimation can be made regarding the level of contribution attained from the nations’ oil and natural gas reserves in terms of economic growth (U.S. Department of Energy, 2014). United Arab Emirates Total Oil Supply and Total Petroleum Consumption, 2003-2012 Source: (U.S. Department of Energy, 2014) The above provided diagram provides a graphical elaboration regarding the quantity of oil and natural gas that is exported by UAE in comparison to that of the required national consumption. From the graph, it can be clearly observed that between the periods of 2004 and 2012, the nation’s consumption for its manufactured oil quantity has increased by considerable amount. Justification regarding this aspect can be provided depending on the increased level of industrial development and trade practices within the nation. In this regard, in relation to the exporting part, it can be identified that UAE exports majority portion of its manufactured oil to other non-oil based economic nations. The gap between the two graphical lines projects the quantity of the total oil manufactured that are exported (U.S. Department of Energy, 2014). Taking consideration of these provided evidences, it can be clearly stated that despite drastic improvement in the non-oil based economic aspects of UAE, the nation will continue to withdraw a major portion of its annual revenue earning through the continued export of hydrocarbon reserves. 2.2. Trends in Natural Gas Sales by UAE Elaborations regarding the contribution of natural gas towards mitigating the domestic development necessity of UAE have been already provided in the aforementioned section of the discussion. The provided graph will help in understanding this concept in a better detailed manner. Trend of Natural Gas Sale Source (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2013) It can be observed from the above graphical representation that the annual natural gas consumption of UAE is much more in comparison to that of its production rates. In addition, even after attaining subsequent increase in the annual natural gas production by 2013, the nation continued to consume a much larger volume in comparison to that of its annual production rate. In this respect, it can be implied that UAE will have to start importing considerable volume of natural gas from external sources to suffice the domestic economic needs in the future unless necessary amount of development is addressed within the nation’s non-economic power generation sectors. Thus, the contribution of natural gas in terms of bringing huge cash inflow can be quantitatively considered as null. In comparison to that of UAE, the Middle East appears to have projected high efficiency in term of consuming only the necessary quantity of its total natural gas production and exporting the rest. Thus in a cause and effect relation, the linkage of the natural gas utility with the economic development of UAE can only be referred against the nation’s domestic economy. It holds no contribution to the overall hydrocarbon trade practices as carried out by the nation (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2013). Apart from these aspects, multiple other credential factors can also be linked up with the economic trend of UAE. In accordance with the statistical data, it can be stated that the nation preemptively remained highly reliant on the consumption and export of oil products to generate revenue. However, during the end of 2008, UAE shifted its focus in terms of decreasing its annual consumption and production of crude oil. As an immediate effect, the dependence of the nation also shifted from oil production to natural gas production that appeared to be a much promising proposal during that point of time. (The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited, 2014). In the present scenario, UAE appears to have projected itself as a major consumer and hence, an importer of natural gas as a result of its increasing domestic demand. Irrespective of this fact, UAE also appears to have projected a strategy of implementing a mixed form of energy generation for sufficing its domestic requirements. For instance, the utilization of nuclear power appears to be the most promising alternative that may be appropriate with the UAE’s projected energy generation plan. Moreover, the nation has also started investing in terms of evaluating new geographical destination where they may find ample supply of natural gas reserves (Central Intelligence Agency, 2014). Eastern Africa appears to be one of such options. However, for now the entire initiative is just in a planning stage. Considering all these aspects, it can be stated that the economic change cycle has laid tremendous amount of negative impact on the overall natural gas productive capabilities of the nation. UAE was considered as one of the leading producers of hydrocarbon based energy generation resources have now turned down as one of the pronounced consumers of natural gas to meet its domestic demand. This factor can be considered as a positive sign regarding the fact that the nation in a limited time frame will again have to come up with new techniques of energy generation without which its economic growth rate will remain stagnate in the future (BBC, 2014). In this regard, UAE’s strategy of preserving its oil reserves can be perceived as a smart economic move that may safeguard the interests of the nation in case it witnesses any sort of financial crisis in the future. 2.3. Degree of Dependency of UAE's Economic Performance on Gas Sales Rather than remaining dependent on the sale of natural gas, the economic performance of UAE can be considered to be highly dependent on the consumption of natural gas reserve and import the same in additional quantity to meet the domestic requirement. Moreover, it can be recognized that the nation appears to have increased the dependency of its economy on other forms of supportive factors. One of such factors is the free trade zone created by UAE for attracting foreign investors (Binali, 2014). The below provided table will help in illustrating the different sectors on which the UAE government has high amount of reliance in the present scenario. Percentage of FDI inflow by Industries in UAE Source: (Santander Group, 2013) It can be recognized that the global finance and investment sector has a keen interest in the domestic markets of UAE. Justification to this context can be seen by the percentage of FDI provided by this global sector within UAE. Apart from the financial sector, the global trade and automobile sector also appears to be highly profitable sector in terms of supporting the economic dependency of UAE. All these FDI contributing sectors appear to have paved a long lasting developmental perspective for UAE’s economy. In an associated fashion, the oil rich economy of UAE also successfully attracted multiple investors from round the globe. As a suggestive measure, one can state that in order to mitigate the increasing level of national expenditure, UAE have focused developing in other industrial sectors that will bring in appreciable amount of foreign currency inflow (Santander Group, 2013). In the present day context, the aluminum production sector in UAE appears to be an important contributor to GDP. Justification regarding this aspect can be provided by taking consideration of the increasing pace in the global infrastructure development initiative. In this respect, it can be asserted that UAE in the present market scenario is recognized as one of the leading manufacturers of high grade aluminum. Likewise, the availability and consumption of natural gas within UAE also provides an additive advantage of manufacturing aluminum at much cheaper rates in comparison to that of the other suppliers. Thus, focusing on the export of aluminum may turn out to be a profitable option for UAE in terms of bringing in huge amount of cash inflow within the nation. This will also support in the context of increasing the FDI stock of the nation (Fitch, 2011). In an eventual manner, the dependency of UAE on the sale of natural gas will shift towards the export of non-oil manufactured assets. In the year 2012, UAE appears to have improvised its potentiality in terms of exporting higher percentage of non-oil manufactured products. It has been identified that the revenue attained by the nation through the export of non-oil products accounted to about 53% of the overall GDP during the financial year 2012. However, GDP attainment through the export of oil products still remained prevalent to an approximate amount of 22%. Integrating all these, the nation attained a GDP growth percentage from US$8.3 billion in 2000 to US$59.2 billion in 2012. All these facts project credential evidence regarding the necessity of UAE in terms of shifting towards the development of the non-oil economic aspects on which the nation can rely on in the coming days for better growth and development (U.S. Geological Survey, 2014). Global Aluminum Manufactured Quantity (thousand metric tons) Global Aluminum Manufactured Quantity (Thousand Metric Tons) Source: (U.S. Geological Survey, 2014) The above provided graph projects the manufacturing capacity of aluminum in multiple nations between the period of 2012 and 2013. It also reveals the increase in manufacturing capacity as attained by the nations. Based on the data provided in the above table, it can be interpreted that UAE does possesses the capability of sufficing a major portion of the global aluminum demand and thus, also has the competitive advantage of attaining appreciable amount of foreign cash inflow. In addition to the aluminum export, UAE also does possess other domestic alternatives that may provide appreciable amount of support towards economic reliance in non-oil sector. One of such alternative is the glass manufacturing sector of UAE. The nation also holds the rank of being one of the leading glass products manufacturers in the global market. UAE is identified to attain foreign revenue of about $US163.35 million during the year 2012, as a result of its glass product export (UAE Interact, 2013). Although the attained figure appears considerable but the nation does posses a good potential in terms of developing this sector in an efficient manner. In this respect, the glass industry will also assist the economy in contributing to the economic growth pace. Thus from an overall perspective, it can be stated that the UAE’s glass manufacturing industry can also be considered as a credential sector on which the economy can rely on apart from just remaining confined on the export of natural gas (UAE Interact, 2013). The tourism industry over the past few years has also shown remarkable level of growth and support towards economic development. The below projected graph helps in elaborating the contribution made by UAE’s tourism sector in terms of improving the economic condition. Total Contribution of UAE Travel and Tourism to GDP Source: (Geronimo, 2014) From the above graph, an understanding can be attained regarding the potentiality of the tourism sector toward the GDP growth rate of UAE. It can be clearly understood that by the end of 2023, the tourism sector will occupy a significant portion of the nation’s growth perspective. According to Geronimo (2014), the report published by ‘World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC)’stated that the period of 2012 attained a GDP contribution of 193.6 billion AED, which is likely to be 17.6 billion AED more in comparison to the economic contribution attained during the period of 2011(Geronimo, 2014). Moreover, taking consideration of its increasing growth pace, an annual growth attainment of 5% has been estimated till the period 2023. In terms of value proposition, the estimated financial value will account to about 325.4 billion AED. All these aspects concisely elaborate the dependence factors associated with UAE. The above elaborations also projects about the possible alternative through which the dependency of UAE’s economy can be shifted from remaining confined to the export of natural gas towards the exporting of other non-oil based commodities (Geronimo, 2014). 2.4. Challenges and Opportunities of UAE's dependency on Gas sales UAE is likely to face multiple challenges in terms of sustaining its economic functionality in case it intends to remain confined to the complete utilization of its own natural gas reserves along with simultaneous imports. In addition, business prospects regarding continued export of oil reserves may also hamper the future economic sustainability factor. As a direct result, the nation is left out with the only option of bringing about drastic improvement within its non-oil sectors for the economic growth of the nation (UAE Interact, 2013). In addition, the continued import of natural gas from external suppliers has been costing the nation in billions in every financial year. In this regard, the UAE government has been identified to increase the inflation rate within the domestic economy, which in turn would minimize the level of disposable income possession of the nation’s inhabitants. Considering an additional fact regarding the lasting period of the natural gas reserves to be approximately 60 years, it has further raised the risk for UAE in terms of being subjected to a state of resource depletion. Additionally, drastic consumption of fuel on global basis is likely to pose multiple other risks in relation to resource unavailability or rise within the trading price (UAE Interact, 2013). As a contradictory measure, the present balanced state of economy and financial condition of UAE projects high favorability for this nation in terms of coming up with alternative techniques of economic sustainability. Justification for these contents can be elaborated in a manner that UAE in the present scenario still possesses the capability and support for attaining high amount of annual economic turnover. Thus, perceptions can be made regarding UAE’s capabilities and expertise in terms of financing other non-oil based industrial sectors that would support the economic sustainability of the nation in the long run. The potential of nuclear energy generation within UAE can be considered as an appropriate considering factor in this context. The graph provided below depicts a brief elaboration regarding the types of economy sustaining options possessed by the nation (World Nuclear Association, 2014). United Arab Emirates Petroleum Consumption, 2003-2012 Source: (U.S. Energy Information Administrationb, 2014) The above graphical representation provided adequate information about petroleum consumption in UAE for the financial year 2011 and 2012. It has been identified that data regarding petroleum consumption has not been recorded. This is due to the major alignment of the nation towards the utilization of other renewable energy generation resources. For the graph, it can be understood that till the period of 2010, the nation majorly relied on the utilization of petroleum resources. In addition, with the increasing concern for extinction of oil and gas in the near future, UAE has harnessed domestic power needs from nuclear projects and natural gas in a balanced manner (World Nuclear Association, 2014). This can be considered as the first alternative practiced by UAE in terms of decreasing its economic dependency on massive consumption of its own natural gas reserves. In this context, consumption level of natural gas is required to minimized in UAE or mitigate the necessity of importing additional quantity of natural gas from international suppliers in order to ensure that the dependency of the economy is reduced on gas. Rather, with the appropriate utilization of the developing renewable power generation techniques, the nation will be able to regain its capability of exporting quantifiable amount of produced natural gas to multiple allied business partners. This in turn will ensure huge amount of funds inflow within the nation and thus, the economic and social status of the nation will enhance to a large extent. Considering all these aspects, UAE during the period of 2012 has invested an approximate amount of US$20 billion for developing advanced nuclear power generation projects for sufficing the energy requirements within its domestic economy (World Nuclear Association, 2014). Another potential option that lies in the hands of UAE in terms of decreasing its economic dependency on the use of natural gas is regarding the nation’s permissibility in context to facilitate favorable and cost effective trade practices. UAE in the present world scenario is accounted within such nations that projects negligible amount of trade barriers towards international investors. Rather, it encourages the establishment of various international business processes within the domestic markets of UAE through minimum or no provision of trade subsidies or taxes (Trade Office, 2014). In addition, certain trade criteria such as commencement of business on the basis of joint venture with domestic companies also minimize trade boundaries. The prime intention regarding such policies implementation is the assurance of continued cash inflow within the economy as well as to attract world companies to conduct their operations in UAE. In this respect, the development of companies within UAE also assists in developing the industrial sector and infrastructure in an immense manner, which in turn will aid in enhancing the GDP growth rate. As a subsequent result, this initiative can also be considered as a supportive factor for minimizing the dependency of the economy on the consumption of natural gas (Saadi, 2014). Development of the travel and tourism industry can also be considered as another beneficial prospective for UAE based on which it can successfully minimize its economic dependency on the consumption of natural gas. On the contrary, this initiative would hike the utility rate of the petroleum products. Source: (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2014) The projected graph specifically elaborates about the contribution made by the travel and tourism sector to the world’s GDP rate. It can be observed that the data provided in the graph projects high sign of profitability by then end of financial year 2024. Considering these aspects, this alternative can be considered as a mandate for UAE in terms of stabilizing its economic dependency on gas reserves. The UAE government with adequate investment has the ability of developing the tourism sector, which in an eventual manner will bring in huge amount of FDI investment within the nation’s domestic economy. In a cause and effect relation, the purchasing power of the nation is likely to increase. In this respect, UAE will also have the capability of generating energy from alternative non-oil resources rather than just remaining confined to the use of natural gas. 3. Recommendations Based on the above discussion, an attempt has been made towards projecting the possible economic sustainability factors as possessed by UAE. It can be noted that the nation is presently functioning in a balanced state, which may altered at any instance owing to the futile state of the global economic scenario. Moreover, UAE from being a leading manufacturer of oil and natural gas has transformed itself as a leading energy consumer. The drastic increase in the nation’s economic functionality has forced it towards the consumption of massive levels of energy resources such as oil and natural gas. UAE is massively dependent on energy consumption and based on which majority of the recommendations will remain focus towards the development of alternative sources of power generation. In this respect, UAE is required to develop and consume alternative energy sources such as nuclear energy. Systematic evaluation of the global technology advancement trend revealed the presence of high level expertise within the areas of nuclear power generation. Moreover, the functional success rate of such power generation plants within oil-deprived nations has also been recorded as high. From a strategic perspective, it can sated that UAE should attain a balance between the energy it harnesses from its nuclear power generation setups and use of natural gas. In an eventual manner, the development of nuclear energy will minimize the consumption rate of natural gas by appreciable amounts (Saadi, 2014). In addition, UAE in order to minimize the use and dependency on gas is required to develop solar power generation projects. UAE is a gulf country and accordingly, it has huge potentialities in installing large solar power generation setups and meet required energy requirement. This technical opinion may turn out to be a highly beneficiary business proposal for UAE based on which it can minimize its economic dependency on the utilizing of hydrocarbon resources (World Nuclear Association, 2014). Furthermore, the nation’s initiative towards facilitating tariff free trade practices can also be considered as beneficial in terms of attracting high percentage of FDI investment. With the availibity of appropriate labor force and supportive access to resources, establishment of massive businesses within this nation’s domestic market becomes quite easy. Moreover, due to the subsidiary support provided by the UAE government, the profitability associated with every sort of business processes is estimated to be high (World Nuclear Association, 2014). Constant development within the tourism sector of UAE can also turn out to be beneficial for the nation’s economy. Consideration of the growth rate of the tourism sector, it can be stated that UAE does possesses a huge potential for attaining FDI inflow in accordance with the growth of its own tourism sector. The sustenance of the economy would improve with the development of the tourism sector in a better sustainable and steady manner (World Travel & Tourism Council, 2014). 4. Conclusion In accordance with the above discussion, it can be comprehended that multiple facts have been elaborated through which an appropriate understanding regarding present economic scenario of UAE can be attained. The identified facts also elaborates about the existence of negative possibilities depending on which predictions associated with UAE’s economic downfall in the coming days is analyzed. It has been recognized that the GDP growth rate of UAE is majorly dependent of gas. In this regard, it is a mandate factor for UAE to adopt multiple other energy alternatives for better economic sustainability. Development of solar power setups can be considered as a promising aspect in alignment with the provided context. In addition to all these, multiple facts regarding the economic development trend of UAE can also be attained by appropriate evaluation of the provided data. For instance, the contribution made by UAE’s industrial sector towards the attainment of appreciable GDP rates. The development of trade and industrial sector is an important consideration for the economic growth of UAE. With reference to this discussion, a linkage between the utilization of hydrocarbon resources and the development pattern of the economy has been attained. The entire discussion also comprised multiple facts elaborating the current technological and industrial initiatives undertaken by UAE to increase its dependency on other alternative economic supporters and minimize its natural gas consumption rate. In an overall manner, it can be stated that the overall theme of this discussion remained towards projecting the extent of UAE’s economic dependency on the sales of its produced natural gas. Lowering down of trade barriers may project multiple risks leading to the occurrence of financial crisis within UAE. However, with time and appropriate support of its hydrocarbon reserve, the nation has evolved its capabilities of identifying and mitigating such economic hindrances. The government of UAE with its attractive international trade policies has successfully made its mark as one of the leading global powers continuing to the prosperity of the global economy. In an integrative pattern to its economic functionality, it has also supported the cause of multiple other developing nations such as Africa, which in turn is accounted as one of the credential business partners of UAE. Likewise, with its directive economic progressive rate, UAE has also posed a severe threat to multiple other global super powers, specifically in terms of global exposure and revenue attainment. However, depending on the futile nature of the global scenario, it can be asserted that the future predictions and the present economic scenario may be altered at any instance. References Binali, S. A. (2014). Direct investors, not index traders, will really drive the UAE economy. Retrieved from: http://www.thenational.ae/business/industry-insights/markets/direct-investors-not-index-traders-will-really-drive-the-uae-economy BBC. (2014). United Arab Emirates profile. Retrieved from: http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-14703998 Central Intelligence Agency. (2014). United Arab Emirates. Retrieved from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ae.html Embassy of the United Arab Emirates. (2009). UAE economy. Retrieved from: http://www.uae-embassy.org/uae/economy Fitch, A. (2011). UAE rises in ranks of aluminum majors. Retrieved from: http://www.thenational.ae/business/economy/uae-rises-in-ranks-of-aluminium-majors Geronimo, A. (2014). DC forecasts strong growth in UAE tourism sector. Retrieved from: http://www.tradeandexportme.com/2014/05/dc-forecasts-strong-growth-in-uae-tourism-sector/ International Monetary Fund. (2014). United Arab Emirates—2014 article IV consultation concluding statement of the IMF mission. Retrieved from: http://www.imf.org/external/np/ms/2014/052714a.htm John, I. (2014). International monetary fund sees strong growth for UAE. Retrieved from: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=data/uaebusiness/2014/October/uaebusiness_October83.xml§ion=uaebusiness Santander Group. (2013). United Arab Emirates: foreign investment. Retrieved from: https://en.santandertrade.com/establish-overseas/united-arab-emirates/foreign-investment?&actualiser_id_banque=oui&id_banque=18&memoriser_choix=memoriser Saadi, D. (2014). UAE renewable energy projects bring the future into view. Retrieved from: http://www.thenational.ae/business/industry-insights/energy/uae-renewable-energy-projects-bring-the-future-into-view Trading Economics. (2014). United Arab Emirates GDP Growth Rate. Retrieved from: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/united-arab-emirates/gdp-growth The Economist Intelligence Unit Limited. (2014). United Arab Emirates. Retrieved from: http://country.eiu.com/united-arab-emirates Trade Office. (2014). Economic overview. Retrieved from: http://www.uaetrade-usa.org/index.php?page=uae-economy U.S. Department of Energy. (2014). Overview. Retrieved from: http://www.eia.gov/countries/cab.cfm?fips=tc U.S. Geological Survey. (2014). Aluminum1. Domestic production and use, 16-17. U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2013). Country analysis brief overview. Retrieved from: http://www.eia.gov/countries/country-data.cfm?fips=tc UAE Interact. (2013). Dubai investments contributes to UAE's manufacturing and industrial growth. Retrieved from: http://www.uaeinteract.com/docs/Dubai_Investments_contributes_to_UAEs_manufacturing_and_industrial_growth/57225.htm U.S. Energy Information Administrationb. (2014). United Arab Emirates petroleum consumption, 2003-2012. Retrieved from: http://www.eia.gov/countries/analysisbriefs/UAE/images/petroleum_consumption.png World Nuclear Association. (2014). Nuclear power in the United Arab Emirates. Retrieved from: http://www.world-nuclear.org/info/Country-Profiles/Countries-T-Z/United-Arab-Emirates/ World Travel & Tourism Council. (2014). Economic impact 2014 world. Foreword, 1-13. Read More