UAE’s surplus reaches Dhs67.5bn in 2018

According to a report released by the Ministry of Finance, the UAE government’s surplus for 2018 stood at Dhs67.5bn.

The increase in surplus is attributed to an increase in revenues which reached 455.5bn in 2018 along with expenditures of Dhs388.147bn.

A rise in oil prices in the last two quarters of 2018 have contributed to the budget surplus.

Previous figures released by the government for the first nine months of 2018 revealed a Dhs28bn surplus, which was a result of 4.8 per cent increase in revenue to Dhs304.5bn and an overall expenditure of Dhs276.2bn for the same period last year.

In September last year, the UAE Cabinet has approved a budget of Dhs180bn over the next three years including a substantial increase in 2019 spending.

Read: UAE Cabinet approves Dhs180bn three-year budget, 2019 spending surge

The budget for 2019 will be Dhs60.3bn ($16.4bn), an increase of around 17.3 per cent on last year’s Dhs51.4bn ($14bn).

Of this, 42.3 per cent has been allocated for community development, 17 per cent for education and 7.3 per cent to develop the healthcare sector.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Dubai’s ruler, said the budget was projected to come without a deficit.

Read: Dubai reveals 2019 budget with marginal rise in spending, support for SMEs

In January, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum also approved Dubai’s budget for 2019, which will see spending rise marginally by 0.35 per cent to Dhs56.8bn, compared to Dhs56.6bn in the 2018 budget.

The 2018 budget was the largest in the history of Dubai, with spending representing a 19.5 per cent rise from 2017.