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UAE offers investors a launchpad to fastest-growing markets: Alhawi

UAE’s role in facilitating global trade further enhances opportunities for businesses

Published: Mon 14 Oct 2024, 6:44 PM

By
Issac John

A view of Sheikh Zayed Road in Dubai. Photo by Neeraj Murali

The UAE stands at the crossroads of global investment and economic flow, “offering investors unparalleled access” to some of the world’s fastest-growing markets, Mohammad Abdulrahman Alhawi, under-secretary of the Ministry of Investment, said.

“With a robust infrastructure, business-friendly policies, and a highly strategic location, the UAE serves as a launchpad for businesses looking to scale both regionally and globally,” Alhawi told participants of Investopia conference in Monaco.

He said the UAE’s role in facilitating global trade further enhances opportunities for businesses seeking to expand into the regional and global markets. “Our focus on innovation, sustainability, and economic diversification is transforming the UAE into a hub for industries such as advanced manufacturing, technology, and renewable energy. Today’s event highlights our commitment to forming strategic partnerships that drive mutual growth and open new avenues for investors,” said Alhawi, who led the UAE delegation to the conference that was attended by 70 high-net-worth individuals and family office representatives. The UAE delegation included Omar Suwaina Al Suwaidi, under-secretary of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT), and Fahad Saeed Al Raqbani, the UAE ambassador to France.

At the event, members of the UAE delegation highlighted the strategic location of the Arab world’s second largest economy, which connects the East and the West, and infrastructure enable seamless access to fast-growing markets across the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia.

As part of the UAE’s broader economic diversification strategy, key sectors such as technology, renewable energy, logistics, and real estate have seen sustained, double-digit growth in recent years. Foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows into the UAE reached $30 billion in 2023, marking a growth rate of approximately 35 per cent compared to 2022, they said. “This is a clear testament to the UAE’s position as an attractive investment destination for global investors who recognise the valuable opportunities offered by its thriving economy. Additionally, the UAE ranked second globally, after the US, in terms of the number of new FDI projects in 2023, recording 1,323 new projects, a growth of around 33 per cent compared to 2022.”

The UAE’s business-friendly environment, which ranked 7th globally in the 2024 IMD World Competitiveness Index, combined with its state-of-the-art infrastructure, offers an optimal base for companies looking to expand not only within the UAE but also into surrounding high-growth regions. Investors benefit from a stable regulatory environment, robust intellectual property protections, and a progressive approach to economic reform, making the UAE a natural partner for those looking to capitalise on the opportunities of tomorrow’s economies, they pointed out.

The UAE's economy is expected to record a 6.2 per cent growth in 2025 after achieving a 3.9 per cent jump in the current year, the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) said in its latest projections.

The optimistic outlook by the AMF for 2025 is far more upbeat than the forecast of 4.2 per cent growth made by the International Monetary Fund recently but aligns with the latest growth projection made by the Central Bank of the UAE. The CBUAE has said the country's vibrant foreign trade performance would continue in 2024 and 2025, underpinning the projected GDP growth of 3.9 per cent in 2024 before accelerating to 6.2 per cent in 2025.

The UAE is actively pursuing accelerated growth with the aim of doubling its GDP to over $800 billion by the end of the decade as it continues to focus on developing its position as a global hub for business and finance. The country has been actively seeking bilateral trade deals and partnerships to drive its economic goals.

According to a Statista projection, the gross domestic product of the UAE in current prices would continuously increase between 2024 and 2029 by $157.4 billion (+29.82 per cent) and after the sixth consecutive increasing year, the GDP is estimated to reach $685.15 billion and therefore a new peak in 2029.

Along with the exceptional growth in GDP, the UAE has further fortified its position among the top 10 countries in the world in various GDP-related global competitiveness indicators. The country ranked fifth worldwide in the Real Economic Growth Rate Index and sixth in GDP (PPP) per capita in the IMD World Competitiveness Yearbook 2023. Additionally, the UAE achieved sixth place globally in the GNI Index, in the UNDP Human Development Index Report 2024.