Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
03ABUDHABI526
2003-02-02 05:05:00
CONFIDENTIAL//NOFORN
Embassy Abu Dhabi
Cable title:  

SHOW ME THE MONEY: INSIGHTS INTO THE UAE BUDGET

Tags:  ECON EFIN EINV PGOV TC 
pdf how-to read a cable
null
Diana T Fritz 06/05/2007 10:42:07 AM From DB/Inbox: Search Results

Cable 
Text: 
 
 
CONFIDENTIAL

SIPDIS
TELEGRAM February 02, 2003


To: No Action Addressee 

Action: Unknown 

From: AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI (ABU DHABI 526 - UNKNOWN) 

TAGS: ECON, EFIN, EINV, PGOV 

Captions: None 

Subject: SHOW ME THE MONEY: INSIGHTS INTO THE UAE BUDGET 

Ref: None 
_________________________________________________________________
C O N F I D E N T I A L ABU DHABI 00526

SIPDIS
CXABU:
 ACTION: ECON 
 INFO: P/M AMB DCM POL 
Laser1:
 INFO: FCS 

DISSEMINATION: ECON
CHARGE: PROG

APPROVED: A/DCM: TWILLIAMS
DRAFTED: ECON: CCRUMPLER
CLEARED: NONE

VZCZCADI434
OO RUEHC RUEHZM RUEAWJA RUCPDOC RUEATRS RHEHNSC
RUEAIIA RHEFDIA
DE RUEHAD #0526/01 0330505
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 020505Z FEB 03
FM AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8188
INFO RUEHZM/GCC COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJA/DOJ WASHDC
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEATRS/TREASURY DEPT WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 000526 

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EB, NEA/ARP AND NEA/RA
DOJ FOR T. GREENBERG
COMMERCE PASS TO C. LOUSTAUNAU
TREASURY PASS FEDERAL RESERVE
NSC FOR J. MYERS

NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/01/2013
TAGS: ECON EFIN EINV PGOV TC
SUBJECT: SHOW ME THE MONEY: INSIGHTS INTO THE UAE BUDGET
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ABU DHABI 000526

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EB, NEA/ARP AND NEA/RA
DOJ FOR T. GREENBERG
COMMERCE PASS TO C. LOUSTAUNAU
TREASURY PASS FEDERAL RESERVE
NSC FOR J. MYERS

NOFORN

E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/01/2013
TAGS: ECON EFIN EINV PGOV TC
SUBJECT: SHOW ME THE MONEY: INSIGHTS INTO THE UAE BUDGET

1.(U) Classified by A/DCM Tom Williams for reasons 1.5 (b) and (d).

2.(C) Summary and comment: Like so many countries in this part of
the world, the UAE does not publish reliable or complete fiscal data.
Only the federal budget -- which accounts for about a quarter of the
consolidated fiscal position -- is publicly available. According to
the IMF, errors and omissions in the budget averaged 13 percent of
GDP in the 1990s. A/DCM and Econoff met with Undersecretary of the
Abu Dhabi Department of Finance Ju'an Salem Al-Dhaheri on January 27
(the emirate of Abu Dhabi accounts for more than half of the UAE's
total GDP and is the major contributor to the federal budget) to
glean some insight into the budget-making process. In a surprisingly
candid meeting, Al-Dhaheri admitted that ADIA's significant
investment income does not factor into the budget. He commented on
the Abu Dhabi Finance Department's own investments, which include
lucrative holdings in the local real estate market.


3. (C/NF) Summary and comment continued: Al-Dhaheri noted that the
UAEG would have "no problem" financing the budget deficit this year
but admitted that investment income had taken a hit the last few
years due to the sagging global economy. Luckily, only 70 percent of
the budget is actually spent each year and this year some projects
are being delayed -- beneficial because the Abu Dhabi budget operates
on a pay-as-you-go system. End summary and comment.

--------------
Counting The Revenue...
--------------


4. (C/NF) Al-Dhaheri noted that the Finance Department works with
ADNOC -- the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company -- to determine the
average oil price for the budget, and estimate oil revenue for the
coming year. The Finance Department generally takes a conservative
stand on oil price assumptions and tends to factor in a lower-than-
realistic oil price for safe measure. The assumed oil price is

adjusted quarterly, using the rolling average oil price during the
last three quarters as a basis.


5. (C/NF) The Abu Dhabi Finance Department does not factor the
investment income from Abu Dhabi Investment Authority's (ADIA)
significant foreign assets into the budget or consider it revenue.
(Note: In reality, ADIA operates as a stand-by source of petty
cash -- and not so petty cash -- for Abu Dhabi, and the organization
maintains a certain percentage of liquid investments in order to meet
the unpredictable demands of financing the federal budget deficit,
large military purchases, and other sensitive projects outside the
regular budget.
End note.) Al- Dhaheri emphasized that the UAEG finances its budget
deficit each year from ADIA, not from the domestic banks like some
other countries in the region. He noted that the habit in the
region of laying off government debt on local banks is bad for
business, and bad for the financial reputation of the country.


6. (C/NF) Al-Dhaheri mentioned that -- separate from ADIA -- the
Abu Dhabi Finance Department invests in local real estate and counts
this income as budget revenue; the Department receives an average
rate of return of 15 percent on real estate in Abu Dhabi, and 10
percent respectively in Dubai. Al-Dhaheri believes that the current
practice in Dubai of providing long-term leases (up to 99-years) to
foreigners unnecessarily invites competition into the market and
depresses investment returns on real estate. Al-Dhaheri perceives
that foreigners circumvent the law requiring that they and they
alone occupy the properties for which they have purchased long-term
leases, and instead sublet their properties to others, in effect
creating unnecessary (and unplanned) competition for UAE nationals.

--------------
...And Limiting Expenditures
--------------


7. (C/NF) Many expenditures are omitted from the budget, including
transfers from Abu Dhabi to the northern emirates as well as
transfers of foreign aid abroad. Abu Dhabi budgets for all federal
programs -- education, health, highway infrastructure, for example
-- in Dubai and the northern emirates, but Al-Dhaheri confirmed that
most transfers from Abu Dhabi to the northern emirates occur outside
of the budget and are authorized by Sheikh Zayid himself. Sheikh
Zayid also generously grants foreign aid to countries without
consideration of the budget, suggesting that his extra-budgetary
outlays are funded prior to all others.


8. (C/NF) Al-Dhaheri is keen to balance the federal budget during
his tenure at the Finance Department, and cut back on government
waste. He noted that Abu Dhabi departments -- the spendthrifts of
the UAE -- use only about 70 percent of the monies allocated to
them each fiscal year. They are automatically provided inflated
budgets, but do not have the capacity to absorb all of the projects
slated for the year.


9. (C/NF) Specific projects, which lie outside the budgets of
individual departments, are sometimes delayed to reduce the
federal government's fiscal deficit. Al-Dhaheri intimated that
the Finance Department follows cash-basis accounting procedures
-- costs are subtracted in the period in which they are paid
for by cash disbursements (when payment for projects is due),
rather than allocated in advance for the fiscal year. This method
allows the UAEG to simply postpone large projects until the next
fiscal year if oil prices suddenly drop and revenues are less than
expected. Al-Dhaheri also confirmed that projects in Abu Dhabi
receive priority over projects in other emirates.

Wahba