Proceedings of the 38th International Academic Conference, Prague

EVIDENCE ON THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF FALL IN OIL PRICES ON THE FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE OF LISTED COMPANIES: A RATIO ANALYSIS CASE STUDY OF THE INSURANCE SECTOR IN THE UAE

PALLAVI KISHORE, MARIAM ASLAM

Abstract:

The sharp decline in oil prices that started in 2014 affected most economies in the world either positively or negatively. United Arab Emirates has been striving to diversify away from oil and expects higher non-oil growth in 2018. This study involves calculations and comparisons of ratios pre and post the fall in oil prices in the insurance sector in the UAE. Parametric tests, conclude that while the change in profitability and efficiency ratios is statistically significant, the other ratios have been quite stable in the period. There has been an overall slowdown in the insurance industry yet UAE has been mostly resilient to the fall in oil prices and given the visionary leadership of its policy makers, the diversification strategy has taken effect rather quickly.

Keywords: Insurance Sector, Oil prices, Parametric test, Profitability, Ratio analysis, United Arab Emirates

DOI: 10.20472/IAC.2018.038.018

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