Abu Dhabi's public revenue up 41% in 2011: Report

Abu Dhabi, Jan 6, 2013 (WAM) - Total public revenue in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi in 2011 surged by almost 41% driven by higher world oil prices, according the emirate's Department of Economic Development. The report about public revenue noted the marked change in the contribution of oil revenues within the structure of public revenue in the emirate, as oil contribution amounted to 90.6%, closer to the levels that prevailed prior to the global financial crisis. This was attributed to the continuous improvement in global oil prices over the past two years, as world oil price per barrel increased from US$79.5 in 2010 to US$ 109.5 in 2011, hiking by approximately 37.7%. Public Finance In view of the strategic ambitious visions of the government of Abu Dhabi, which aims at attaining the highest levels of excellence in various fields of economic and social life, creating a sophisticated attractive investment environment and laying the foundations of sustainable development in an open and competitive global economy, periodic follow-up to track public finance trends in the emirate, is inevitably important; as public finance stands as a cornerstone in implementation of government visions and aspirations. in order to provide financial resources and requirements for best yielding projects, in line with the standard criteria for excellence in government performance, the Department of Finance in Abu Dhabi took the initiative to formulate the Strategic Plan (2011-2015) for setting a sophisticated financial framework based on international standards and practices, and formulating sound fiscal policies to facilitate the realisation of the initiatives of all government departments and entities in Abu Dhabi. Public Revenue: Available data reveal that total public revenue in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi during the past year increased by almost 41%, in addition to the marked change in the contribution of oil revenues within the structure of public revenue in the emirate, as oil contribution amounted to 90.6%, closer to the levels that prevailed prior to the global financial crisis. This was attributed to the continuous improvement in global oil prices over the past two years, as world oil price per barrel increased from US$79.5 in 2010 to US$ 109.5 in 2011, hiking by approximately 37.7%. The rise in the contribution of oil revenues during 2011, was accompanied by a decline in the contribution of other revenues, especially the marked decline in the contribution of capital revenue, which fell from its record contribution of 10% among government revenues in 2010, to 2.9% in 2011; while the contribution of the current revenue of Government Departments dropped from 7.3% in 2010 to 6.5% 2011. Public Expenditure: The total public expenditure of the government, as data indicate, increased by 14.2% during 2011. Data also reveal that the structure of expenditure items last year, was closely similar to that of previous years. Contribution to federal expenditure, remained the largest item as it constituted 32.2% of total public expenditure during 2012, compared to 30.9% in 2011. Expenditure on recurrent expenses of government departments acquired the second place in 2011 as it accounted for 26.8% of total public expenditure; while expenditure on aid and loans came in third position among items of spending by 25.7% compared to 23% in 2010. It should be noted that expenditure on capital payments registered the highest drop among public spending items last year; as it fell to 6.9% in 2011 compared to 10.3% in 2010. - Emirates News Agency, WAM