ABU DHABI, (Pakistan Point News - 26th Sep, 2019) Total credit facilities provided to micro, small and medium enterprises in the UAE amounted to AED88.7 billion by the end of Q1- 2019, according to figures revealed by the Central Bank of the United Arab Emirates.
This accounts for 11 percent of total loans provided to the corporate sector and 5.8 percent of total bank credit in the UAE by the end of Q1-2019.
According to the CBUAE's data, credit provided to microenterprises grew 26.3 percent during the period from December 2017 through March 2019, with loans received by medium enterprises steadying and those channeled to small-scale projects down 20.1 percent.
Effective end of March 2019, medium enterprises received half of bank credit provided to SMEs, with small enterprises getting 30 percent and microenterprises 16 percent.
MSMEs play a significant role in accelerating economic diversification and tapping more job openings, according to a CBUAE report, which pointed to the launch of multilateral initiatives with various parties concerned to ease credit restrictions imposed on this important economic sector.
Within this context, the Securities and Commodities Authority said it's collaborating with the Ministry of Economy and UAE capital markets to set up a foothold for MSMEs at the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Dubai Financial Market to facilitate credit for MSMEs with a view to accelerating their business.
MSMEs account for over 94 percent of total companies operating in the country, 73 percent of which are involved in wholesale and retail trade, 16 percent in the service sectors and 11 percent in the manufacturing platform.
According to the Ministry of Economy, there are more than 350,000 companies working at the SMEs platform, and providing over 86 percent of the private sector's total workforce. They contribute to more than 60 percent of the UAE non-oil GDP.
