Dubai economy to rebound 4% in 2021, launches $1.85 bln stimulus

The economy of Dubai, the financial and business hub of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is projected to grow by 4 percent in 2021, recovering from a projected 6.2 percent contraction this year, the government said, citing projections from the Dubai Statistic Centre.

The economy was hit hard by the coronavirus outbreak, which hurt its key tourism, real estate and trade sectors.

Dubai launched 6.8 billion dirhams ($1.85 billion) stimulus, to help offset the shock and repercussions in the form of job losses or disruptions to businesses, the statement said.

Dubai started inoculating people with the COVID-19 vaccine produced by Pfizer and BioNTech for free from Wednesday, the government said, joining Saudi Arabia which last week became the first Arab country to begin using this vaccine.