UAE 'can fund own growth in credit crisis'

The strength of local funding sources in the UAE will compensate for reduced access to international capital markets during the global credit crisis, the Dubai International Financial Centre Governor said yesterday.

"If anyone in the world today can say it can fund its own growth, it's the UAE," Omar bin Sulaiman, who also sits on the board of the UAE Central Bank, told a real estate conference in London.

The UAE current account surplus is at about 25 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP), according to Standard Chartered.

Earlier this month, the UAE cut interest rates and guaranteed deposits to improve liquidity in the country's financial system.