UAE economy to grow by up to 3pct in 2010:economy minister

The United Arab Emirates economy should expand by up to 3 percent this year, the Gulf country's economy minister Sultan bin Saeed al-Mansouri said on Monday. The global financial crisis slashed growth rates across the world's largest oil exporting region last year, sending some oil producers such as the UAE and Kuwait into a downturn last year. "I am very optimistic the economy will roll this year. The figures will be roughly between 2.5 and 3 per cent ... but it will all depend on many factors," he told reporters on the sidelines of an event. In December, Mansouri expected the UAE to grow by 3.2 per cent in 2010. A Reuters poll showed analysts predicting the UAE's gross domestic product to grow by 2.5 per cent this year - the slowest pace in the Gulf. But the world's third largest oil exporter would still improve from an estimated contraction of 1.4 per cent in 2009. Mansouri, who had been sticking to his forecast for a 1.3 per cent GDP growth in 2009 over the past months, said on Monday there was no contraction last year but did not comment further. The IMF forecast last month that Dubai woes would continue to be a drag on the UAE economy this year, estimating 0-1 per cent economic growth in 2010 versus 0.7 contraction in 2009.