Emirates NBD , a leading bank in the region, yesterday announced the launch of the Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker, the first dedicated monthly survey of Dubai's economy. The tracker, compiled by Markit, is based on the methodology behind the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) series and provides an accurate and timely signal of the performance of Dubai's non-oil sectors including manufacturing, services, construction and retail. The new survey is launched in conjunction with the Emirates NBD Dubai Real Estate Tracker, which surveys real estate agents and households on a bi-monthly basis to gauge trends in Dubai's real estate sector.

The new trackers were unveiled by HH Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman, Emirates NBD , who said,"In the last decade, Dubai's economy has become one of the most vibrant and diversified in the region. Revenues from the non-oil sector continue to growand this new report will provide a useful window on emergent trends and opportunities as Dubai continues on its path to growth as a global hub for business, trade, real estate and tourism."

The launch event was attended by senior officials from Emirates NBD including Vice Chairman, Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim;CEO, Shayne Nelson and Chief Economist and Head of Research at Emirates NBD , Tim Fox, along with Luke Thompson, Managing Director and Head of Economic Indices fromMarkit.

Hesham Abdulla Al Qassim said, "As a home-grown brandand the first national bank in the emirate, Emirates NBD has played an integral role in Dubai'sgrowth story.This is an exciting time for Dubaias we cross new growth milestones.The Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker reflects our commitment to steer and support the emirate's development and progress.

Shayne Nelson stated, "Dubai has one of the most dynamic economies - not only in the region - but in the world. We can now provide a timely and useful tool that will arm analysts and policy makers with a useful and timely dataset that helps them to better understand economic conditions and the opportunities they represent."

Tim Fox said," Emirates NBD Research is very pleased to be partnering with Markit on these exciting new products. With our footprint in the MENA region and with Markit's global expertise at producing highly recognised data, we believe that the Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker and the Dubai Real Estate Tracker will provide important new sources of reliable and timely information about the state of the Dubai economy."

Luke Thompson added, "Markit is delighted to be extending and enhancing its survey coverage in MENA with the launch today of the Emirates NBD Dubai Economy Tracker and Dubai Real Estate Tracker. We are confident that both surveys will quickly establish themselves as key performance indicators in the region by providing timely and accurate data on economic conditions."
Source: WAM