Emirates Development Bank has allocated a financing package worth more than Dh700 million ($191m) to the UAE’s industrial sector since the start of the year, the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology has said.
The capital is allotted to industrial companies in five priority sectors – industry, technology, healthcare, food security and infrastructure – the ministry said on Wednesday, during the Global Manufacturing and Industrialisation Summit week taking place at Expo 2020 Dubai.
The financing is designed to enhance the performance and productivity of the industrial sector and support the objectives of the ministry and the bank, said EDB.
The allocation is “represents a practical step towards achieving the UAE government’s comprehensive vision to support the transition towards a diverse and resilient knowledge economy”, Omar Al Suwaidi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology, said.
“This step will increase the productivity of the industrial sector and enhance its ability to attract foreign direct investment. It will also stimulate sustainable economic growth in the country,” he said.
As part of EDB’s strategy, which was unveiled earlier this year, the bank allocated direct and indirect financial packages to small and medium enterprises, start-ups and corporates in priority industrial sectors.
Under this strategy, EDB supports more than 13,500 companies.
The UAE is expanding its manufacturing and industry sectors as it maintains its economic momentum, leading it into a future underpinned by Fourth Industrial Revolution technology.
In October, the Emirates launched its Industry 4.0 programme, designed to increase industrial productivity by 30 per cent and add Dh25 billion to the country’s gross domestic product in the next 10 years.
EDB’s priorities in the new strategy include enhancing the levels of financial support available to the economic and industrial sectors, chief executive Ahmed Al Naqbi said.
“This includes increasing direct facilities to support priority sectors and providing financing solutions to [the] underserviced economic segments.
“Our aim is to create a conducive ecosystem that contributes to achieving the vision of the leadership and the government’s directives to support a knowledge-based economy in the next decade,” Mr Al Naqbi added.
