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Abu Dhabi Ports-Jiangsu deal to spur Dh1.1 billion investment

Abu Dhabi Ports and Jiangsu Province of China on Monday signed an investment cooperation agreement that would bring in investments of Dh1.1 billion into Khalifa Port Free Trade Zone.
The agreement, signed by Dr Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of State and Chairman of Abu Dhabi Ports, and Huang Lixin, Executive Vice Governor of Jiangsu Provincial People's Government, seeks to bolster bilateral economic ties and investments through joint ventures.
In line with this strategic agreement, the ceremony also saw the establishment of a 50-year Musataha Agreement, signed by Abu Dhabi Ports with the Jiangsu Provincial Overseas Cooperation and Investment Company Limited (JOCIC), in Khalifa Port Free Trade Zone (KPFTZ). Captain Mohamed Juma Al Shamisi, CEO of Abu Dhabi Ports, Peng Xiangfeng, President of China Jiangsu International E.T.C.G and Luo Hua, General Manager of Jiangsu Province Overseas Cooperation and Investment Company Ltd. were the signatories of the lease agreement.
Under the terms of the agreement, China-UAE Industrial Capacity Cooperation (Jiangsu) Construction Management Co., Ltd., a UAE company newly established by JOCIC, will occupy and develop approximately 23.7 million square feet of the free trade zone for companies from the Chinese province of Jiangsu. This represents 2.2 per cent of the available free zone space in Kizad's newly allotted KPFTZ area.
Dr Al Jaber said: "This investment agreement marks a new step - in trade and partnership -to strengthen the ties between our two countries, the UAE and the People's Republic of China."
In addition to the signing ceremony, representatives from five Chinese tenant companies announced their plans to invest in the lease space, including Hanergy Thin Film Power Group, Jiangsu Fantai Mining Development (Group) Co. Ltd., Xuzhou
Jianghe Wood Co. Ltd., Jiangsu Jinzi Environmental Technology Co. Ltd., and Guangzheng Group.
The five companies signed with JOCIC as the frontrunners in taking advantage of the agreement's highly competitive trade benefits. Combined, the new tenants will inject over a billion dirhams into KPFTZ, creating over 1,400 jobs, broadening the financial and physical scope of the zone while bolstering its ties the "Belt and Road" initiative. China is the UAE's second largest trading partner and the biggest exporter to the UAE. The UAE is considered a gateway to about 60 per cent of China's exports to regional markets at an annual volume of exchange of $70 billion dollars.
Lixin stated that, "Jiangsu and Abu Dhabi are highly complementary to each other in terms of natural endowment, economic structure and industrial systems, bearing the common wishes to speed up industrial structural adjustment and promote economic transformation and upgrading. It is good timing for us to jointly deepen industrial capacity cooperation and promote the 'Belt and Road' Initiative, and we will have a broad prospect in this undertaking. We will work together with Abu Dhabi to build the UAE-China Industrial Capacity Cooperation Demonstration Zone into a landmark program of the 'Belt and Road' initiative and a beacon of UAE-China exchanges and cooperation."
The Musataha agreement between Abu Dhabi Ports and JOCIC will attract foreign investment into Abu Dhabi - an ideal environment for investment opportunities due to the competitive advantages KPFTZ enjoys, including its strategic location, world-class infrastructure and logistics solutions.
Building on the success of China's "Belt and Road" and Maritime Silk Road initiatives, the agreement highlights the opportunities available to both Abu Dhabi and the UAE as regional economic integration deepens and trade ties expand across Asia.
Captain Al Shamisi also added that "the agreement plays a pivotal role in the Abu Dhabi government's plans to strengthen the infrastructure and transport sectors in Abu Dhabi, in line with the Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030."
- issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com