The Dubai government on Monday announced a 7.8 per cent increase in its revenues to Dh32.62 billion for 2013 and pegged its spending at Dh34.12 billion. It lowers the budget deficit to below 0.5 per cent of the emirate’s gross domestic product (GDP).

His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has approved Dubai’s budget for 2013, a government statement said.

Abdul Rahman Al Saleh, Director-General of the Department of Finance (DoF), attributed the government’s move to increase expenditures “in a bid to support the emirate’s economy by increasing public spending for the fiscal year 2013 by 6 per cent over the 2012 budget, without sacrificing the strategic objectives of the government of reducing the deficit and achieving a balance in the general budget.”

Gulfnews.com