Why UAE stays Middle East’s top investment destination
UAE economy is ready to take on next 50 years with plans on all fronts
Even as competition builds within the region for foreign investments, the UAE is putting more distance between it and the others. The country is ranked first regionally and ninth worldwide in the Global Competitiveness Report 2021.
It was also ranked first on 22 economic indicators globally in the report issued by the Global Competitiveness Center. The priority for the next 50 years remains “accelerating economic development and unlocking opportunity, especially by encouraging small and medium-sized enterprises and instilling a culture of entrepreneurship throughout the country”.
Global capital and talent
One of the key pillars of the UAE’s ambitions is to attract foreign investments in key sectors, particularly those associated with the knowledge economy and advanced technologies. These would be in Artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things, Blockchain, innovative medical technologies, high-speed transportation, augmented virtual reality, self-driving cars and renewable energy — all fields in which the UAE wants to excel in the immediate term.
The UAE ranked first in the
Arab world and 15th globally in terms of its ability to attract foreign direct investment, according to the results of the Global Foreign Direct Investment Report issued by the UN Conference on Trade and Development. It attracted FDI of $19.9 billion (Dh73b) in 2020, a growth of 11.24 per cent over 2019, despite having to endure the worst of the pandemic.
The UAE Central Bank estimates the economy would restore higher growth rates for the national economy by yearend, with forecasts of 2.5 per cent growth in real GDP terms. And a 3.6 per cent growth in non-oil GDP terms.
The UAE has become a global and regional headquarters for more than a quarter of the world’s Top 500 companies. It remains a primary investment destination for foreign capital, where the country’s major projects in tourism, industry, transport and renewable energy projects are principal targets.
Projects of the 50
Projects of the 50 sets in motion key initiatives that will determine the nation’s economic success, with a particular focus on developing a knowledge economy. It is a comprehensive economic and developmental blueprint to showcase the capabilities available in the UAE to investors, entrepreneurs and talents of different nationalities and in various economic sectors.
The UAE is ready to take on the next 50 years…