Investment & strategy • Roundtable
Abu Dhabi’s strong leadership and infrastructure ensured that companies not only succeeded during challenging times, but more businesses were also encouraged to invest in the Emirate.
Which sectors remained resilient in recent months, and what factors ensured that the Emirate remained resilient?
RASHED AL BALOOSHI Abu Dhabi is extremely resilient; prior to COVID-19 the economy of Abu Dhabi and the UAE in general were doing well. However, at the time the government wanted to introduce incentives to not only accelerate the growth of the economy but also have a sustainable economy that would have sustainable growth relying on knowledge base and innovation. Many programs and initiatives were introduced in early 2019, and one happened to be one of the strongest pillars for Abu Dhabi, which is a stimulus package. Some AED50 billion would be injected into the economy in 2019, 2020, and 2021. Of that AED50 billion, AED5 billion was allocated to water and electricity support for the industrial and commercial sectors, and AED3 billion was for credit guarantees, especially in support of SMEs. We wanted to make the funds and the finance channels available for SMEs. For the financial market, AED1 billion was introduced as a market maker. Then, we looked at other issues like a 20% rebate for rental and a waiver for penalties and fees related to the industrial and commercial sectors. Last but not least, there was a policy to ensure a supplier would get a cash reward or the bill to be paid within 15 days. Other rules and regulations were immediately introduced to strengthen the economy and encourage existing businesses as well as potential businesses that would come to the UAE. A 100% foreign ownership law was issued and covers 122 different categories. The reason is that there are sectors that could be encouraged if we allowed 100% foreign ownership, and they are set to grow based on public and private demand. We introduced the golden visa for investors, innovators, and students that will make the lives of those willing to stay in the UAE and Abu Dhabi easier and happier. We are extremely proud of the technology and services we provide businesses; about 76 of the services that we provide are done in less than six minutes. We are not even satisfied with that and are converting them into smart applications. The services that we provide to our stakeholders are managed electronically by digital platforms and provided in a smart manner. In addition to these services, we are collecting data that would improve decision making by implementing AI. There are currently online programs that would help a decision maker, be it an investor or a government employee, make the right decision. All these packages, including others for the social, energy, and other sectors, demonstrate just how resilient Abu Dhabi is.
How are you managing the crisis, and how has this experience helped KPMG become resilient?
NADER HADDER We immediately recognized that this is a serious issue and put together a crisis management office. From that, we drew up four different entities: business continuity, health and safety, employee special program, and an opportunity program, because in every crisis there are opportunities if we look for them. These worked very well for us and continue to work. In terms of the resilience of the economy, we found that we were fairly fortunate to have a strong infrastructure. In no time at all, we were able to turn the switches and rely on a strong technological infrastructure, never mind an entire strong infrastructure, in the UAE. That was a positive thing for us to start with, though we also found that a number of our clients also benefited from that management. Managing the crisis in the beginning was challenging because the question is where do you start to manage, and what are you managing. Today, this is becoming part of our life; resilience in manag
ing situations is extremely important to us almost all the time. This is not just one case that we will tackle and never come back to again. Crisis management needs to continue to be available and evolve. It is therefore important to understand how you manage the timeline and the velocity of those crises you are managing. There was uncertainty across the board but it was important to us that the safety of our people continued to be the number-one issue for us to manage. In the UAE, that was made easy because the messaging from the top was “Do not worry about your food supply, medical supplies, and secondary things as they will continue to be secondary here.” That helped us a lot, and we managed our people knowing that we would walk out of this crisis and see light at the end of the tunnel. All in all, crisis management for us helped us learn how to manage resilience, and resilience is something that we need to have all the time. We are starting to see a great deal of positivity in the world with the news of vaccinations and economies opening up. Slowly and surely, locally, regionally, and globally we will see a good and positive outcome at the end of this journey. Crisis management also taught us that we need to be careful with our people, their mental health and physical wellbeing and focus on their safety and talent. If we do all these things right, the business will continue and we were extremely fortunate.
Where is UAE in the digital transformation journey, and how does it compare regionally and globally?
ALEXIS LECANUET I see that we are uniquely positioned in UAE. There is a great deal to invent in the region, and this is why there is a unique opportunity. This will be true only if the ecosystem grows jointly to make an impact, and not only a local impact but global as well, as what will be invented can change the world. We have the ingredients, and they are present here more than anywhere else, with infrastructure including roads, airport, ports, and digital infrastructure. It was easier to have employees work from home here compared to other countries where the Wi-Fi connection was not there. We are blessed to live in a country where we have a long-term vision from government that includes the important component of new technology adoption. The workforce needed in a new world and new context is an innovative, collaborative, and emotionally connected one, and this is achieved through diversity and a culture of equality. We have 200 nationalities in our workforce here, which is a great opportunity in terms of diversity, and we have a young generation joining the workforce including more and more women. The talent potential is there in the different ingredients, and the early adoption mindset of technology adoption is a huge element. In the past, the play here was to adopt and import best practices from the rest of the world; however, it is now a different game. Every country is starting from the same line when it comes to the ability to use AI in the government, citizen management, and virtual reality. Accenture publishes an annual Innovation Technology Trend, and last year it came with the DARQ acronym for distributed ledger, artificial intelligence, extended reality, and quantum computing. Those technology adoptions are available globally but the one that can adopt and translate them into business cases and outcomes will be the winner. To get there, you need an innovation ecosystem and workforce. The ingredients are here, and as one of the ecosystem partners committed to new technology, we will play a role alongside our partners, competitors, and our clients. We are not ignoring the impact of the crisis, though we see many positive ingredients and outlooks. We are starting with our own business forecast to help this region lead in the new wave.