Dubai announces new coronavirus economic support worth over $400 million

DUBAI (Reuters) - Dubai has announced a new package worth 1.5 billion dirhams ($408 million) to help the economy cope with the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, the crown prince of the emirate, Hamdan Bin Mohammed Al-Maktoum, said on Twitter on Saturday.

The package is the third announced by Dubai, the second-largest and second-wealthiest member of the United Arab Emirates federation. The three packages are worth a total of 6.3 billion dirhams, Sheikh Hamdan said.

The latest intervention includes cancelling certain fines imposed by the government and the customs department, tax reimbursements to hotels and restaurants, financial guarantee refunds to the construction sector and exonerating private schools from licensing renewal fees.

The Dubai support measures come on top of initiatives implemented at the federal level, especially by the UAE central bank, to ease financial and liquidity requirements on lenders and businesses.

Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital and the largest and wealthiest member of the seven-member federation, has also introduced its own stimulus packages.

(Reporting by Maher Chmaytelli; Editing by Jane Merriman and James Drummond)