ICT sector set for influx of Chinese investors
dubai — The thriving technology sector of the UAE offers Chinese businesses extensive growth opportunities even as the two way trade, which hit Dh195.8 billion in 2017, continues to record steady annual growth.
“Booming domestic ICT sector, favourable business setup policies and high quality of life expected to drive fresh influx of Chinese investment to Dubai,” according to Dubai Internet City.
DIC — whose partners include leading Chinese companies such as Huawei, UnionPay, China Telecom Middle East and Oceanblue Cloud — is at the forefront of this development.
“China has long been one of the UAE’s most important international trading partners. As our local tech industry matures amid game-changing reforms in our trade and investment laws, we are confident that Chinese citizens will find a wealth of investment and employment opportunities to explore here in Dubai,” said Ammar Al Malik, Executive Director of Dubai Internet City.
Al Malik said the next few years would define Dubai’s journey to becoming a global powerhouse of innovation, supported by several government efforts that are driving the industry to the next stage of growth — from the roll-out of ultra-fast 5G mobile internet networks in 2019, to the announcement of the Dubai Blockchain Strategy, which aims to move half of all government transactions to the blockchain by 2021. “We look forward to leveraging these opportunities in partnership with our Chinese counterparts.”
Valued at nearly $8 billion, the UAE’s domestic IT market is expected to grow at an average of five per cent annually between 2017 and 2022, reports the International Data Corporation (IDC).
Li Xiangyu (Spacelee), Vice President, Public Affairs and Communications, Huawei Middle East, said at the heart of the Huawei ethos is its dedication to innovation and knowledge sharing, and “we could not have asked for a better environment than the Emirates to fulfill these ideals.”
“The UAE government, as well as our local partners and customers, have demonstrated that they share our relentless drive for innovation and exploration, and thanks to them we are making huge strides in our vision to bring digital to every person, home and organisation for a fully connected, intelligent world,” said Xiangyu.
Hang Wang, General Manager of UnionPay International Middle East, a global business focussed on bank cards services, said China has been the largest trading partner of the UAE for three consecutive years. The economic and trade exchanges between China and UAE continues to grow, generating greater demands for cross-border payment. This has brought more opportunities for UnionPay in the UAE. He said UnionPay International would
We are confident that Chinese citizens will find a wealth of investment and employment opportunities to explore here in Dubai Ammar Al Malik,
Executive Director, Dubai Internet City
continue to strengthen collaboration with the major institutions in the UAE, promoting the large-scale issuance of UnionPay cards in the UAE based on UnionPay’s extensive acceptance in the market.
Alexann Zhang, Founder and CEO of Oceanblue Cloud, a leading SD-WAN provider, believes Dubai is the destination of choice for international businesses looking to establish their regional head offices to expand their operations in the Middle East and North Africa region.