Dubai launches fifth stimulus economic package to support businesses under pandemic

The Emirate of Dubai has announced a new stimulus package worth 315 million dirhams ($86 million) to help the economy. (File/AFP)

DUBAI: The emirate of Dubai announced Wednesday its fifth economic stimulus package in a bid to support economic and business sectors affected by the coronavirus pandemic.  
The latest package, which is worth 315 million dirhams, was announced in a tweet by Dubai’s Crown Prince Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed. 
The 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 new package raises the value of business incentives introduced by the emirate’s government to 7.1 billion dirhams.
Sheikh Hamdan said the step comes as part of Dubai’s government strategies to meet global economic challenges posed the COVID-19 pandemic. 
“The Dubai Government continues to assess the current global economic situation and the various developments amid these exceptional circumstances to develop practical strategies that will enable us to efficiently mitigate the repercussions of the global pandemic on the economy,” he said.
“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.”
During the period between March and October of 2020, Dubai launched four stimulus packages to reduce the impact of confinement measures in the emirate. 
On Wednesday, the UAE announced 2,067 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of recorded cases to 218,766. The country’s ministry of health also recorded four deaths due to virus complications, bringing the total death toll in the country to 689. 
The ministry conducted 156,520 additional COVID-19 tests over the past 24 hours.