Market Monitor - Construction industry - UAE

Market Monitor

  • United Arab Emirates
  • Construction

18th February 2016

The sharp decrease in oil prices has a negative impact on construction activities.

  • The sharp decrease in oil prices has a negative impact on construction activities in the UAE. The government as the largest sponsor of construction (especially infrastructure) is facing a deterioration of its fiscal position due to decreasing oil revenues. Commercial and residential construction are facing headwind due to reduced demand and a cooling down of the real estate market.
  • Decreasing demand, payment delays and strong competition have led to an erosion of businesses´ profitability - both in terms of reduced margins as well as increased provisions towards bad debts.
  • Construction businesses are largely dependent on banks to fund their working capital requirements. However, banks have become very restrictive on lending due to the low demand situation and the fact that many construction businesses are already highly geared.
  • Payments in the construction sector now take between 90-180 days on average (after 90-120 days in early 2015). Due to the current liquidity squeeze, many players are delaying payments. This has a knock-on effect on the trade cycle, with many smaller players struggling to meet their payment commitments. Non-payments are expected to increase by more than 30% in the coming six months, and business closures are also on the rise.
  • Due to the current challenging business environment, we have decreased our risk appetite in all construction subsectors. We are especially cautious on large buyers with sizeable exposure to government projects, buyers operating in the infrastructure segment, and businesses operating in oil field support services.

Related documents

Disclaimer

Each publication available on or from our websites, such as, but not limited to webpages, reports, articles, publications, tips and helpful content, trading briefs, infographics, videos (each a “Publication”) is provided for information purposes only and is not intended as a recommendation or advice as to particular transactions, investments or strategies in any way to any reader. Readers must make their own independent decisions, commercial or otherwise, regarding the information provided. While we have made every attempt to ensure that the information contained in any Publication has been obtained from reliable sources, Atradius is not responsible for any errors or omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of this information. All information in any Publication is provided ’as is’, with no guarantee of completeness, accuracy, timeliness or of the results obtained from its use, and without warranty of any kind, express or implied. In no event will Atradius, its related partnerships or corporations, or the partners, agents or employees thereof, be liable to you or anyone else for any decision made or action taken in reliance on the information in any Publication, or for any loss of opportunity, loss of profit, loss of production, loss of business or indirect losses, special or similar damages of any kind, even if advised of the possibility of such losses or damages.