Younes Haji Al Khouri, the deputy of the Ministry of Finance, stated that the total volume of bonds and sukuk issuances by the ministry reached about 2 billion dollars (7.7 billion dirhams) in 2023, while the ministry plans to issue a plan worth 5 billion dirhams for the first quarter of the current year 2024.
On the sidelines of his participation in the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong, Al Khouri stated that the launch of the Islamic Treasury Sukuk program worth 1.1 billion dirhams in 2023 witnessed strong demand and recorded bids worth 8.3 billion dirhams, exceeding the subscription size by 7.6 times.
The paragraph can be paraphrased as follows: It emphasized the continuation of achieving strong results in bond offerings, as issuances continued to attract high-quality investors and generated strong demand.
The subscription size in transactions exceeded 5 times on average.
Regarding the importance of the Ministry’s participation in the Asian Financial Forum, Al-Khouri stated that the Ministry’s participation provides an opportunity to strengthen financial relationships on a global level and contribute to international efforts towards economic growth solutions.
It was highlighted that the UAE is considered Hong Kong’s largest trading partner in the Middle East, with non-oil trade between the two reaching 22.2 billion dirhams in the first half of 2022.
Additionally, both sides signed an agreement in June 2019 to encourage and protect investments, aiming to create a favorable investment environment.
Regarding the important financial and economic issues reviewed by the Ministry of Finance during its participation in the forum, Al Khouri stated that the ministry will present its contribution to the economic diversification efforts, as the United Arab Emirates has achieved significant progress in reducing reliance on oil and moving towards a competitive global economy driven by knowledge and innovation.
The ministry also clarified that it will review the country’s experience in sustainable financing, which can alleviate the direct financial burdens to achieve energy transition goals.
They will also discuss the role of the Sustainable Finance Working Group in the UAE in promoting environmentally friendly investments and how this will alleviate long-term vulnerabilities to climate change and achieve massive economic gains.
The mentioned paragraph can be paraphrased as follows: According to Al-Khoury, the ministry will review its efforts to expand its revenue base by implementing a corporate tax on business profits starting from June 2023.
The corporate tax system has been designed according to best practices, reaffirming the state’s commitment to meeting international standards for tax transparency and preventing harmful tax practices.
Regarding the importance of the UAE’s participation in major economic and financial events, the Deputy Minister of Finance stated that “Our participation embodies our national vision (UAE 2031), through which the country strives to become a key actor in economic cooperation and a powerful force within the global economy, at the heart of trade, partnerships, international economic groups, and forums.”
He added: “Active participation in multi-party forums, including our regular participation in the G20 group and our recent membership in the BRICS group, serve as evidence of our ambition to lead diversity.
It also reflects our presence in these major international forums and the role that the UAE can play in shaping the priorities of global policies and dialogues.”
He emphasized that the participation of the state in these events provides an opportunity to highlight its outstanding achievements, which were demonstrated by securing the first position in the Arab region in the World Competitiveness Report issued by the World Economic Forum, and the first position in the Middle East and North Africa region in the Annual Global Competitiveness Report issued by the International Institute for Administrative Development for the year 2023.
GOOGL 
AMZN 
MET 
T 
WPM 
DM 
SVM 
CMC 
HKDUSD=X 
BABA 