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FDI in the UAE has grown by 7.8% and expects to increase to 15% by next year

For immediate release
Sharjah, 10 December 2018

Sharjah – United Arab emirates, December 10, 2018- Sharjah hosted the fourth global forum on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) at Al Jawahar Reception and Convention Center  organized by the SharjahFDI Office (Invest in Sharjah), with the support of the Ministry of Economy and in strategic partnership with CNBC Arabia.

Under the title Global FDI:New regulations and Business Trends, representatives of government and private sectors talked about several new investments from different world markets. New legislation, new trends in business sectors, investment cycles and best practices were up for discussion. Along with it, panelists talked about the impact of foreign direct investment on aggregate domestic products and their ability to increase employment opportunities.

His Excellency Juma al-Kait, Assistant undersecretary for foreign trade at the Ministry of Economy, said, “ in view of the decline that the world is witnessing in foreign direct investment, which reached 41% in the first half of the year 2018, compared to 23% for the same period last year, the UAE has achieved growth of 7.8%. We expect growth over the next year up to 15%”.

He attributed these expectations to Federal Law No. 19 of 2018, which was recently issued by presidential decree from His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, to promote an investment environment and attract foreign direct investment in line with the development policies of the state. The UAE has a vision for the future through which it seeks to lead the region by attracting more Foreign direct investment and export.

He explained that the economic systems and legislation adopted by the countries, directly affect the attractiveness of investments pointing out that the UAE approach is clear in this aspect, where the state has a vision to transform it into a knowledge-based economy. This is not only aimed at attracting investments but also to ensure their sustainability. Al-Kait added that the UAE has many economic laws and regulations that deals with investor rights, guarantees  property rights, arbitration law, insolvency law and corporate law.

In addition to advanced infrastructure, such as free zones and ports that are spread across the country, good quality roads and faster communication, all of which are technologically advanced has harnessed competitiveness and attractiveness for investors.

BostjanSkalar, CEO at World Association of Investment Promotion Agencies (WAIPA) said Investors and governments are on different sides many times. He said, “Investors and governments don’t speak the same language but they need to speak the same language. They need to be in sync with each other. We have to look at the human capital perspective it’s about attracting and honing soft skills”.

Harald Djedka, Senior Investment Policy and Promotion Officer at the World Bank Group noted that the reason for the fall of foreign direct investment in many developed nations over the past two years have been “negative economic policies and protectionism in many countries”.  He further said, that the countries that witnessed the decline in the volume of foreign direct investment, the United States, China, Canada and a number of European countries, pointed that the reasons for the decline are various social, political and economic tensions that they have experienced or even intra-trade policies with other countries.

He also said, “To promote economic fundamentals such as value chains, which affect investment flows associated with the economic development cycle. Health sector also needs development, in addition to providing advanced infrastructure, focus on education outputs and encourage talent that’ll attract qualified cadres, allowing discovery and innovation to create a qualified and capable economic environment that’ll attract capital flow”.

In a related context, Hanan Ahli, Executive director of Competitive sector, Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Authority said “that the Governance structure and policies are the basis of investments. The capital looks at the legislative systems and policies governing the economy, pointing out that the economic policies initiated by countries play a central role in the sector directly affecting the overall output of the state”. Ahli along with fellow panelists agreed to diversify investment sources in order to obtain a more conducive economic environment.

The Future to Reignite Productivity, Trade and Growth

Speaking during a presentation, was also Henrik von Scheel, who spearheaded the development of Germany’s 2009 digital strategy that later evolved into the concept of the Fourth Industrial Revolution (Industry 4.0). Von Scheel is one of the founding fathers of Europe’s Digital Agenda 2020, the EU-wide strategy established in 2010 to drive economic growth across the region. Originator of the “4^th Industrial Revolution” Henrik Von Scheel said,“ by 2020 UAE will be among the top 5 countries in the FDI list because the country is being led like a business. There are only two governments around the world that are being led like a business, China and the UAE”.

He further said, “A common mistake in FDI across the globe is that every country focuses on growth mechanism. FDI can’t be a growth mechanism if you don’t have your productivity levels up. This can be done by injecting more talent. Ultimately, it’s about human beings and how we interact with each other”.

In the sidelines, Michelle Wu, Chief Information Officer & VP, GE Power services, Middle East Africa, South Asia, APAC& China talked about the Future of Power and technology in FDI. She said, “Power is foundational. It has to be efficient, accessible and made available to everyone at lower costs to see an upward movement in FDI”.

Concluding the session, panelists conceded that it’s not only the policy measures that impact global FDI, it’s also about economic fundamentals and value chains that have an impact on FDI.

The Sharjah FDI Forum, which was first launched in 2015 under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, is organised by Sharjah FDI Office (Invest in Sharjah) with the support of the Ministry of Economy, and in strategic partnership with CNBC Arabia.

The fourth edition seeks to boost the emirate’s endeavours to attract more foreign investments, promote opportunities in main sectors, and strengthen the UAE’s position as a top investment destination in the region and the entire world.

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About Invest in Sharjah:
Established in 2016, the Sharjah FDI Office (Invest in Sharjah) is the investment promotion agency of the Emirate of Sharjah, launched by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq). It also functions as a key facilitator to investors, servicing them with a 360-degree informative and physical support, allowing them to fully understand processes, investment advantages and insights on key sectors that fit their business profiles in Sharjah.

As one of the emirate’s key economic growth drivers, Invest in Sharjah is dedicated to the continued transformation and economic diversification of the emirate, and is committed to guiding foreign investors to the unique opportunities and potentials that Sharjah offers to global markets. Its mission is to work collectively with the emirate’s public and private sectors, to guide investors towards strategic and personalised opportunities, promoting collaborations for bilateral growth and update investors on Sharjah’s unique business culture, modern facilities, latest regulations and policies as well as business platforms and free zones that incentivise new prospects.

Invest in Sharjah also works in close partnerships with numerous state entities in the emirate, and has hosted numerous business roundtables and seminars in Sharjah and across the world, attracting unique investments and future ventures with business leaders from The Americas, Europe, Middle East, Gulf Region, Asia and the wider Asia-Pacific Region.

Invest in Sharjah has organised and participated in numerous leading business and investment conferences and seminar in Sharjah and the rest of the world. It is responsible for organising / hosting the Euromoney Conference Sharjah, the Sharjah FDI Forum, the Sharjah Ramadan Majlis and a number of high-level businesses conferences.

For more information, please visit www.investinsharjah.ae or you can contact +971 6 556 0444. For the latest news on Invest in Sharjah on social media, follow @investinsharjah on Twitter and Instagram.