Ministry of Finance organises workshop on government balance sheet preparation in collaboration with IMF - Middle East Business News and Information
Aiming to strengthen the technical capabilities of UAE government entities in processing and managing financial data Exploring methodologies for balance sheet preparation using government financial data Showcasing successful international practices in preparing and publishing balance sheets Assessing federal and local data sources alongside technical improvements in data collection and dissemination
The Ministry of Finance, in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), organised a specialised workshop titled 'Preparing the Government Balance Sheet According to the GFSM 2014 Guidelines' in Dubai.
The event brought together representatives from the Ministry of Finance, the Central Bank of the UAE, the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre, and local financial departments nationwide.
Delivered over four days by IMF experts, the workshop aimed to strengthen the technical competencies of government staff and enhance their ability to accurately collect, process, and publish government financial data.
It also aimed to support the institutional cooperation and coordination among relevant authorities and benefit from the IMF expertise to enhance the quality of financial data and boost transparency as well as competitiveness at both regional and international levels.
Efficiency of financial planning:
HE Saeed Rashid Al Yateem, Assistant Undersecretary for Government Budget and Revenue Sector at the Ministry of Finance, stated that organising the workshop reaffirms the UAE's commitment to constantly developing public financial statistics by not only adopting international standards but also providing a specialised training environment to enhance government entities' readiness for accurate and transparent balance sheet reporting.
'The balance sheet is a strategic tool that supports decision-makers. It offers a comprehensive view of government assets and liabilities, thereby improving financial planning efficiency and enabling the effective and sustainable allocation of resources,' Al Yateem said.
He added, 'The workshop provided an opportunity to identify technical needs and develop a unified national vision among federal entities and state-level financial departments regarding the methodology for preparing the balance sheet report. We are committed to developing financial statistics in partnership with international institutions to strengthen financial system transparency and reinforce the UAE's leadership in financial governance.'
International recognition:
IMF experts commended the high level of engagement and commitment demonstrated by UAE government departments. They emphasised the fundamental role such workshops play in accelerating progress toward preparing balance sheets in line with international standards and lauded the country's efforts to strengthen modern financial governance practices.
Agenda of meeting:
The workshop discussed a series of themes including the theoretical framework of government financial statistics, components of the balance sheet, and methodologies for preparing balance sheet reports based on government financial data.
It also highlighted successful international experiences in compiling and publishing balance sheet data, assessed data sources at both federal and local levels, addressed institutional and technical improvements in data collection and publication, and discussed a national roadmap for the phased implementation of the balance sheet, aimed at enhancing transparency and improving the quality of government financial statistics.
Strategic orientation:
These efforts align with the UAE's strategic vision to enhance financial transparency, adopt the latest international standards, and establish leadership in government financial reporting, in accordance with the objectives of the 'We the UAE 2031' vision.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mada
3 hours ago
- Mada
New law to regulate state ownership: Pushing through the IMF review with the same old recipe
During the International Monetary Fund delegation's visit to Cairo for its ongoing fifth review of Egypt's US$8 billion loan program, the government renewed its push for a draft law that would regulate state ownership in companies in which it holds full or partial stakes. While the IMF closed out its visit with praise for Egypt's economic performance, it once again called for a faster pace of reform to reduce the state's footprint in the economy, particularly by moving forward with asset sales in sectors the government had already committed to exit under its State Ownership Policy. The draft legislation, now with the House of Representatives a year after the Cabinet approved it, is closely tied to the implementation of that policy and the broader privatization agenda. Mada Masr broke down what's in the law and spoke to sources familiar with the key issues it introduces, who painted the new law as little more than 'reheating leftovers' — a recycled, hasty push aimed to appease the IMF ahead of its report. *** First, what's in the law? According to a copy of the draft law reviewed by Mada Masr, the legislation would establish a central unit within the Cabinet responsible for inventorying and tracking state-owned companies. This body would submit recommendations to the Cabinet and its ministerial economic group, with a mandate to 'implement the state-ownership policy according to specific timelines and targets, and remove obstacles to progress in this area.' First issued in 2022, the State Ownership Policy outlines the government's roadmap for withdrawing from sectors outside its designated 'core functions,' including those that the private sector has shown reluctance to invest in. The stated objective is to generate financial savings that could ease pressure on the state budget. The policy sets three directions to manage state involvement: full exit within three years, continued participation with either stable or reduced ownership; or continued participation with stable or increased investment. Under the proposed law, the new Cabinet unit would also develop frameworks to 'regulate' all state-owned assets. For companies entirely owned by the state, Article 6 outlines mechanisms that include selling shares — whether through initial or secondary market offerings — increasing capital, expanding the ownership base, or restructuring through mergers or demergers. In cases where the state holds only a partial stake, its role would be limited to managing the sale of shares or voting rights. The draft law also requires relevant authorities in share-owning state entities to provide the newly proposed Cabinet unit with any information or data it requests. This includes updates on restructuring plans and policies, as well as detailed reports on projected and actual cash flows and overall financial performance. Article 5 of the draft outlines steps the unit may take to implement its regulatory programs for both fully and partially state-owned enterprises, with frequent references to privatization and private sector involvement. These include recommending the best approach to attract private investment across various sectors, maintaining and regularly updating a comprehensive database of companies fully or partially owned by the state, evaluating whether continued state ownership is warranted, and determining the most appropriate exit strategy for each company based on the economic or investment sector under which it falls. The unit would also be authorized to identify state-held shares in companies and decide whether to sell them — either in full or in part — or list them on the stock exchange. It would be responsible for determining the size of the stake to be offered and approving the selection of investment banks, offering advisors, and financial consultants, in coordination with the relevant owning state entity. The draft law also stipulates that, upon a proposal from the unit's executive director and with Cabinet approval, a formal decision must be issued to set mechanisms for managing labor surpluses in state-owned companies. It states that any financial costs associated with these measures must not add further strain on the public budget. As part of implementing the State Ownership Policy, the law introduces restrictions on the state's ability to expand its holdings. It requires prior written approval from the unit before any state entity can establish or invest in a company whose primary activity falls within sectors where the state has opted to keep its investments unchanged. It also prohibits investment in sectors from which the state has committed to a full or partial withdrawal, as outlined in the policy document. *** Not everyone, however, believes the legislation has much chance of success or has been fully thought out. A member of the Cabinet's macroeconomic advisory committee criticized its timing as rushed, 'like reheating leftovers that have been there for a year.' Speaking to Mada Masr, the source said the law appears to offer a superficial display of reform to satisfy the IMF and secure a favorable outcome in the fifth review negotiations. The Cabinet approved the draft law in May 2024, and the parliamentary economic committee began deliberations in a closed session on May 25, without journalists present. The committee approved the draft and referred it to the House's general assembly for a final vote. The IMF previously referenced the draft law as part of Egypt's structural reform commitments. In its third review report, published in August, the fund said the law aims to 'embed key elements of the state-ownership policy into law.' The fourth review report has yet to be published, at the request of the Egyptian government for it to be withheld. The advisory committee source argued that the law's passage was merely 'a formal gesture to show that certain steps — with no value to the project's core — are being taken.' They also pointed to overlap between the proposed unit's role and existing bodies that already, in a way, manage state-owned assets: the Sovereign Fund of Egypt, the Public Enterprise Ministry, and the National Investment Bank. By contrast, Nation's Future Party MP Mahmoud al-Saeedy, a member of the House Economic Committee who took part in the discussions, told Mada Masr he sees no conflict between the new unit and the sovereign fund. 'As part of its multiple roles,' he said, 'the unit may recommend transferring a specific asset to the sovereign fund after reviewing its data.' A second member of the Cabinet's macroeconomic advisory committee raised concerns about the 'ambiguity surrounding the new unit's role and its actual purpose.' They noted that a committee with nearly identical responsibilities — the higher committee on implementing the State Ownership Policy — was already created by administrative decree in December 2022 and also reports directly to the Cabinet. Amr Adly, an assistant professor of political economy at the American University in Cairo, told Mada Masr that such overlap and conflict between the roles of the sovereign fund and the new unit is not unusual. Egypt's bureaucratic system, he noted, has long been characterized by parallel bodies with overlapping mandates. 'Take, for example, the National Center for Planning State Land Use,' he said, 'whose responsibilities both resemble and clash with those of the Industrial Development Authority, the Tourism Development Authority and the New Urban Communities Authority.' Beyond questions of overlapping mandates, the draft law also includes a broad exemption from its own provisions. According to the text, the law does not apply to companies engaged in activities deemed to be of 'national or strategic importance, as defined by a Cabinet decision issued based on a joint proposal from the relevant minister and the competent authority within the owning state entity.' But the draft provides no definition or clear criteria for what qualifies as a national or strategic activity. This vague exemption strips the law of its substance, according to both advisory committee members. The first of the sources said that it further demonstrates that 'the government has no real intention of implementing the law, and only aims to show the IMF that it is fulfilling the required tasks.' Adly echoed the same skepticism, suggesting that the broad exemptions indicate the law is not grounded in any genuine governmental belief in the need to exit the economic sphere or scale back its role in line with the IMF's repeated calls. Instead, he argued, the government is primarily seeking short-term financial returns from select assets to compensate for its inability to grow tax revenues — while maintaining control over assets it is unwilling to relinquish. In contrast, the law's explanatory memorandum defends the exemption, claiming that decisions related to such companies may involve matters of national security or require approval at higher levels of decision-making. The exemptions outlined in the draft law also include 'companies established under international agreements, companies named in special legislation that governs their purpose or ownership structure, and contributions by state-owned insurance firms to the capital of other companies.' Under the law, the new asset inventory and tracking unit is to be led by a full-time executive director with proven expertise in investment, corporate management, and economic project administration. The unit will be supported by a team of experts and specialists in these fields, alongside personnel with financial, technical, and legal qualifications. Staff may be hired on a contractual basis or seconded from existing administrative bodies. The unit's organizational structure will be determined by a decision from the prime minister, based on a proposal by the executive director and after consultation with the Central Agency for Organization and Administration — 'without being bound by the current government rules and regulations.' Saeedy interpreted this provision as intended to bypass several standard government constraints that may not be compatible with attracting top talent to the unit — 'particularly the public sector's maximum wage cap,' he noted. The government's decision to revive this law came as Egypt undergoes its fifth review under the IMF loan agreement, which shows how closely the State Ownership Policy is tied to the terms of the country's arrangement with the fund. The State Ownership Policy document was issued following the government's November 2021 announcement of the findings of a study — prepared, it said, by the Cabinet Information and Decision Support Center — the full text of which was never published. The study was intended to lay out steps to reinforce the state's shift toward supporting the private sector. According to the government at the time, the document emphasized the need to 'identify key sectors in which the state will remain, those it will exit, and others it will gradually withdraw from.' It also recommended 'reforming the public sector by retaining major companies in strategic, high-priority sectors' while divesting from those deemed less critical. The study's conclusions closely mirrored the IMF's second review report, released four months earlier. That report explicitly called for 'a clear state ownership policy,' stating that 'reform of state-owned enterprises should start with developing an ownership policy to enhance accountability and transparency, define the sectors where public intervention is governed by a public service mandate, and implement performance boosting measures. This would enable the state to withdraw from other sectors and allow for private sector-led productivity gains.'
Egypt Today
7 hours ago
- Egypt Today
Egypt Expands Export Rebate Program with LE 45 Billion Boost for 2025–2026
The Ministries of Investment and Foreign Trade, in collaboration with the Ministry of Finance, have officially launched an upgraded Export Burden Rebate Program for the 2025–2026 fiscal year, introducing broader support mechanisms and a restructured framework to empower Egyptian exporters. At the heart of the new program lies a significant financial expansion, with the total budget doubling to reach LE 45 billion. Of this amount, LE 38 billion is earmarked for targeted export sectors, while LE 7 billion has been allocated as a flexible reserve to respond to sector-specific challenges and emerging export opportunities. To guide equitable fund distribution, the government has adopted a comprehensive economic model that takes into account several key factors. These include value added by exports (50 percent), export growth rates (30 percent), production capacity (10 percent), and employment figures (10 percent). This structured approach ensures a data-driven and impact-oriented allocation process. The updated program introduces a two-tiered system of eligibility. Core criteria include export volume and the economic value generated, while additional factors consider broader developmental aspects such as participation in international trade fairs, penetration into strategic markets, branding efforts, logistics and transportation improvements, geographical expansion, adherence to international environmental standards, and energy efficiency. These additional criteria are weighted flexibly to reflect the varied priorities of each export sector. The LE 7 billion flexible reserve is specifically designed to target high-potential export products and launch incentive mechanisms based on the economic complexity of goods, starting with the engineering and chemical sectors. It will also support efforts to attract international companies to the Egyptian market, reinforce the growth of leading exporters, and fund infrastructure critical to export expansion. Among the standout features of the revamped program are its inclusivity, adaptability, and transparency. It supports businesses of all sizes — from small startups to large exporters — and offers clearly defined eligibility requirements alongside streamlined, timely disbursement. One of the most notable improvements is the commitment to settle dues within a maximum of 90 days, without deducting any outstanding tax liabilities, which marks a major step forward in restoring trust and boosting business confidence. The current 2024–2025 program, operating with a LE 23 billion budget, will continue without retroactive changes. For the first time, all disbursements under this cycle have been made within the promised 90-day period, and initial payments have been issued in full, free from tax-related deductions. To resolve longstanding arrears totaling LE 60 billion for shipments made before July 2024, the government has introduced a structured repayment mechanism. Half of the dues — approximately LE 30 billion — will be paid in cash over a period of four years. The remaining half will be offset through a clearing system that matches exporter claims with outstanding liabilities to government entities, including taxes, customs, utility providers, and social insurance institutions. In a joint statement, Minister of Investment Hassan El-Khatib and Minister of Finance Ahmed Kouchouk stressed that the revamped program was developed following extensive consultation with export councils. The government conducted detailed discussions with 13 sector-specific councils to gather insights, assess past challenges, and shape a solution-oriented strategy tailored to each sector's unique demands. The ministers emphasized that this initiative is part of a broader national agenda aimed at enhancing Egypt's overall investment landscape and export competitiveness. To support this, the government has adopted a flexible exchange rate, implemented supportive monetary policies, offered tax incentives, eased non-tax burdens, and introduced 29 specific trade facilitation measures to accelerate Egypt's integration into global markets. Concluding their remarks, Minister Kouchouk reaffirmed the government's commitment to business community collaboration, noting that LE 45 billion has already been allocated in the upcoming fiscal year's budget to support the new program. From 2019 to 2024, over LE 70 billion was disbursed to more than 2,800 exporting companies. For the first time, exporters' dues for the current fiscal year have been paid within the 90-day timeframe, demonstrating the government's resolve to create a predictable and business-friendly export environment.
Mid East Info
2 days ago
- Mid East Info
UAE reaffirms commitment to promoting GCC Economic Integration at 123rd Ministerial Meeting in Kuwait - Middle East Business News and Information
Discussions touched on tax and banking committee outcomes Exploring latest updates on the progress of the Gulf Customs Union and GCC Common Market H.E. Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini: The UAE supports all efforts to strengthen financial and economic cooperation among GCC states. The UAE has taken part in the 123rd Ministerial Meeting of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Financial and Economic Cooperation Committee, held today in Kuwait, bringing together Their Excellencies, the Ministers of Finance of the GCC member states. Led by H.E. Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini, Minister of State for Financial Affairs, the UAE delegation featured H.E. Khalid Ali Al Bustani, Director-General of the Federal Tax Authority (FTA); and Ali Abdullah Sharafi, Acting Assistant Undersecretary for International Financial Relations. A number of specialists from the Ministry of Finance, the Federal Tax Authority, the Federal Authority for Identity and Nationality, Customs and Port Security also accompanied the delegation. Advancing Regional Economic Integration: The meeting discussed priority issues to strengthen financial and economic cooperation across the GCC, where appropriate decisions were taken accordingly. Topics addressed include the outcomes of the 84th Meeting of the Committee of the Governors of the Central Banks in the GCC Countries, recent sessions of the GCC Customs Union Authority, and the 14th meeting of the Committee of Heads and Directors of Tax Departments in the GCC Countries. Ministers also reviewed the latest developments related to the Gulf Common Market, along with recommendations stemming from a joint event hosted by the UAE Ministry of Finance and the GCC General Secretariat on the sidelines of the World Government Summit in February 2025. Progress on the GCC's economic unity agenda by 2025 was also reviewed, with discussions focusing on ongoing efforts to enhance Gulf coordination in global economic forums. The session also featured a briefing by the GCC Statistical Centre on current data from the Gulf Common Market. Accelerating the pace of integration: H.E. Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini said that strengthening joint GCC action in the financial and economic sectors will continue to be a strategic priority for the UAE, particularly in light of the accelerating challenges facing the global economy. He stressed the importance of completing the requirements of the GCC Common Market and Customs Union as essential steps toward enhancing economic efficiency and boosting the global and regional competitiveness of GCC countries. His Excellency added that the next phase calls for expediting institutional integration and aligning financial, tax, and customs policies to foster greater harmony and coherence among GCC economies. He reaffirmed the UAE's support for all efforts and initiatives aimed at establishing a unified Gulf economy and creating an attractive, dynamic environment for investment and trade. He concluded by highlighting the need to intensify technical cooperation and exchange expertise among member states, as well as making the most of the opportunities presented by joint Gulf projects. These efforts, he noted, are vital to achieving sustainable growth, ensuring long-term prosperity for GCC citizens, and strengthening the region's position as an influential economic bloc on the global stage. Exchanging views: During the meeting, the meeting ministers exchanged views on financial and economic priorities for the next phase and explored how to enhance the GCC countries' readiness to address regional and global developments, as well as how to support executive plans for economic integration and strengthen the GCC's position on the global stage.
