Dr. Nasser Saidi’s comments (posted below) on the UAE shifting its weekend to Sat-Sun appeared in the article titled “UAE’s weekend change to boost economic competitiveness” on The National dated 8th December 2021.
For companies, particularly those dealing with global markets, the move will lead to a greater economic integration, according to Nasser Saidi, founder and president of Nasser Saidi & Associates
“The reform will mean that the UAE’s banking and financial markets will gain a full working day in common with international financial markets, leading to greater efficiency and increased productivity, since the banking and financial sector will likely open all of Friday,” Mr Saidi said.
“This supports banking and financial deals/transactions and flows, with banks and equity markets being able to undertake operations/transactions on the same days as most of the world, increasing the UAE’s financial integration with global markets and reducing the current overnight risk of deals and operations, including for the all-important oil markets.”
“The move to a Saturday-Sunday weekend for the federal government needs to be mirrored in the private sector, building on the cohesive strategy of attracting businesses and investments into the region through a variety of legal and regulatory reforms and ease of establishment [visas and residency liberalisation] and related measures that were introduced during 2020 and 2021,” Mr Saidi said.
