State-owned lender says on track to hit goal of supporting 13,500 companies by 2026.  Emirates Development Bank, the state-owned lender that provides financing for the UAE’s priority sectors, has said that its contribution to the country's industrial gross domestic product soared to Dh4.3 billion ($1.17 billion) in 2023, amid a record year for the lender. The 80 per cent annual surge puts EDB well on pace to achieve its goal of contributing Dh10 billion to the industrial economy by 2026, the Abu Dhabi-based bank said on Monday. Total net financing approvals stood at Dh8.7 billion, also on track to realize EDB's strategy launched in 2021 that entails providing Dh30 billion in support to 13,500 companies by 2026. EDB's 2023 performance was underpinned by a significant jump in net financing approvals for small and medium enterprises, which rose 72 per cent to Dh3.3 billion last year, it said. The growth in GDP contribution and SME financing also led to the creation of a total of 17,219 jobs during the 12-month period, about 44 per cent higher than the 12,000-plus in 2022, the bank said. In addition, EDB approved Dh1.3 billion in financing under its credit guarantee program with partner banks in the UAE, which is a 64 per cent rise compared with 2022, reflecting the bank's “commitment to enhancing the financial inclusion of SMEs”. “EDB’s dynamic strategy, which offers innovative financing solutions, has played a pivotal role in reshaping the UAE's industrial sector,” its chairman Dr Sultan Al Jaber, who is also Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said. (ICE DUBAI)

Fonte notizia: www.thenationalnews.com/business/economy/2024/02/26/edbs-contribution-to-uae-industrial-economy-soar