Dubai announces new Dh315 million economic stimulus package

Dubai: Dubai on Wednesday announced the fifth tranche of economic stimulus.

“We approved the fifth economic stimulus package in Dubai at a value of Dh315 million, bringing the total value of the economic packages to Dh7.1 billion. We continue to boost the ability of all sectors to overcome the global crisis impact,” said Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Dubai Executive Council.

“The new package includes exemptions and extensions of previous initiatives … and our goal is to spread the benefit to everyone and enable various economic activities to skip the current stage to resume the comprehensive development process with a solid partnership between the government and private sectors … through which we work together to monitor future opportunities and make the most of them,” Sheikh Hamdan Bin Mohammed said in a tweet.

The decision to launch the new stimulus package is based on the recommendations of the Dubai Economy Support Committee, chaired by His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Second Deputy Chairman of The Executive Council, to continue supporting all economic and business sectors in Dubai. The Dh315 million package extends the validity of some of the initiatives announced in the previous stimulus packages for another six months, starting from January 2021 until June 2021.

“The Dubai Government continues to assess the current global economic situation and the various developments amid these exceptional circumstances in an effort to develop practical strategies that will enable us to efficiently mitigate the repercussions of the global pandemic on the economy,” Sheikh Hamdan said.

The Crown Prince of Dubai said that the Government’s efforts to reduce the impact of the global crisis, accelerate the pace of recovery of economic sectors and provide necessary means to ensure business continuity, are in line with the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

“Despite the challenges imposed by the pandemic worldwide, our economy is steadily recovering. We have the capabilities and resources that enable us to achieve economic excellence and accelerate the recovery of our various business sectors. We are confident the next phase will bring new opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors,” His Highness said.

The initiatives included in the stimulus package approved by Sheikh Hamdan include exempting commercial establishments and hotels that did not benefit from the reduction in previous packages launched in 2020 from the market fees one time during 2021. His Highness directed that non-beach hotels and their restaurants are refunded 50 per cent from the hotel sales fee as well as the Tourism Dirham Fee.

In the tourism, entertainment and events sector, the exemption from the fees charged for postponement and cancellation of recreational and sports events and activities, including conferences and exhibitions, has been extended. The new package also extends the freeze on fees charged for ticket sales, issuing permits and other government fees imposed on entertainment and business events.

As per the approved initiatives, commercial licenses can still be renewed without mandatory renewal of lease contracts. The package also includes extending the cancellation of the 25% down payment requirement for accepting installments of licensing fees and license renewal on a monthly basis. Additionally, nurseries leasing land lots from the Knowledge Fund Establishment will continue to benefit from the 50% reduction in land rent.

During the period between March and October this year, the Government of Dubai launched four stimulus packages with the objective of mitigating the impact of confinement measures in the Emirate, on the demand side, covering consumption, investment, trade and travel, as well as on the supply side including the workforce, supply chains and the cost of doing business. The initiatives, worth around Dh6.8 billion, helped offset the shock and repercussions in the form of job losses or disruptions to businesses.

Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Dubai has responded with swift and effective health measures and economic support initiatives that protected lives and livelihoods. This has enabled the emirate to contain the spread of the COVID-19 virus and its impact on the economy, and paved the way for a quick recovery. The comprehensive preventive and support measures were implemented following the directives of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and the close follow-up of Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.