UAE best in the world for business climate, logistics
dubai — The UAE has come first out of 50 emerging markets in terms of having the best business climate and best transport and logistics connections, a recent index by Agility has revealed.
The country was followed by Qatar in second place, Oman in third and Bahrain in fourth, while Saudi Arabia ranked seventh and Kuwait 10th. According to the 2017 Agility Emerging Markets Logistics Index, the UAE
Uncertainty and volatility have characterised many emerging markets in 2016. However, there have been many positives too John Manners-Bell, chief executive of Ti
came in third on the overall Index behind China and India, which came in first and second positions respectively. Experts have attributed the UAE’s successful performance in the Index to factors such as strong logistics infrastructure investments.
The index, now in its eighth year, offers an annual snapshot of industry sentiment and ranks the world’s leading emerging markets by size, business conditions and transport infrastructure and connections. It includes a survey of more than 800 global logistics executives. Transport Intelligence (Ti), an analysis and research firm for the logistics industry, compiled the Index.
Speaking on the findings, Bassel El Dabbagh, CEO of Agility, said that emerging markets’ growth increased for the first time after five consecutive years of decline. He informed that in October, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) had forecast growth for emerging markets in 2016 at 4.2 per cent. The IMF has forecast a growth of 4.6 per cent for emerging markets in 2017.
El Dabbagh noted that just over half of the logistics executives interviewed for the index said they felt the predicted growth was accurate. “The top factor that impacted global economic and trade growth in 2016 were oil prices. This year, it will be the Chinese economy that will have the biggest impact,” he said.
El Dabbagh also noted that most of the challenges for the Middle East logistics industry would stem from the current macroeconomic environment and US president Donald Trump’s
This year, the Chinese economy will have the biggest impact on global economic and trade growth Bassel El Dabbagh, CEO of Agility
rhetoric on changes in current trade agreements.
“There is some uncertainty on how things will develop in the coming months, and until we have more clarity on how the trade agreements will be changed, it’s going to be very hard to predict what we can expect in the near future. However, we do know that
Cross-border e-commerce was the key driver of this growth and will continue to drive aramex’s expansion plans Hussein Hachem, CEO of Aramex
more and more emerging markets will rely on internal consumption in the years to come.”
“The UAE has taken a strategic view of its development outside the energy sector and continues to improve its attractiveness to logistics providers and their customers,” said Elias Monem, Middle East and Africa CEO of Agility Global Integrated Logistics. “The low energy prices of recent years have prompted other Gulf states to do the same.”
In the survey, supply chain executives identified the direction of China’s economy as the factor most likely to drive global economic and trade growth in 2017.
Iran, emerging gradually from years of international isolation, leapt eight spots to the 18th position in the index. Bahrain climbed five spots in the overall rankings to the 23rd position, rebounding after years of social unrest that damaged its economy and dampened investment.
John Manners-Bell, chief executive of Ti, said: “Uncertainty and volatility have characterised many emerging markets in 2016. This has been compounded by the political environment in Europe and the US, which will have direct consequences on trade with Latin America, Asia and Africa. However, there have been many positives too — for example, the strong performance of India.”
Aramex had earlier announced that its revenues in Q3 2016 increased to Dh1,050 million, up by 15 per cent compared to Dh917 million in Q3 2015. Aramex’s strong revenue performance in the third quarter was driven by growth across most of its geographies, with the AsiaPacific being a key contributor.
“Revenue growth was positive, with most geographies and business segments performing strongly. Cross-border e-commerce was the key driver of this growth and will continue to drive Aramex’s business strategy and expansion plans,” said Hussein Hachem, CEO of Aramex. “Looking ahead, we are pursuing partnerships with innovative logistics and technology companies to further transform Aramex into a leading technology enterprise, grow our e-commerce proposition and sustainably expand the business. While we remain confident in this approach, we are also cautious in our outlook due to global economic uncertainties.”
— rohma@khaleejtimes.com