Abu Dhabi is on the verge of revealing its overall new economic strategy to diversify its economy and is looking to boost investment in a number of sectors, the chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development has said.
The emirate is "close to unveiling Abu Dhabi’s overall new economic strategy, which also plans for ushering in a new era for our diversified economy”, Mohamed Al Shorafa said on Thursday. He added that the emirate considers innovation, entrepreneurship and digitalisation as the “cornerstones of sustainable and long-term economic growth and diversification”.
Mr Al Shorafa made the comments at a media briefing organised to announce details of the Annual Investment Meeting event, which will be held in the UAE capital from May 8 to 10 next year.
Abu Dhabi has launched a number of new initiatives in the past twelve months as it focuses on diversifying its economy away from oil.
In June, it launched a new industrial strategy to boost the contribution of the sector to the overall economy. As part of the strategy, it is investing Dh10 billion ($2.72 billion) across six industrial programmes to more than double the size of the emirate’s manufacturing sector to Dh172 billion by 2031.
Mr Al Shorafa said Abu Dhabi’s new industrial strategy was "slowly building momentum … with significant interest already shown from business owners and investors”.
It also unveiled various measures such as rent rebates, discounts on utility bills and loan guarantee packages to support businesses and stimulate economic growth during the coronavirus pandemic.
Earlier this year, it removed more than 20,000 requirements that were deemed critical to establishing a business in the emirate. It also launched a Dh5 billion IPO Fund to help encourage and support private companies to list on the local stock market.
In the long term, the emirate “will continue to focus on several high-growth fields” including health care and biopharma, agriculture-technology and FinTech, energy, tourism and ICT (information and communications technology), Mr Al Shorafa said.
Abu Dhabi’s economy expanded by 11.2 per cent in the first six months of the year on an annual basis, driven by a robust performance of the oil and non-oil sectors, latest government data indicated.
The size of the emirate's real gross domestic product at constant prices surpassed Dh543 billion at the end of the six-month period, while the value of non-oil GDP grew by Dh28.4 billion to Dh273 billion during the same period.
“Our overarching objective in Abu Dhabi is to continue to invest extensively towards creating a knowledge-based economy, thus redefining economic standards for businesses on par with other global and capital cities, both on and offshore," Mr Al Shorafa said.
The three-day Annual Investment Meeting will be attended by decision-makers, investors, experts and academic figures from all over the world. They will discuss the global investment landscape amid the current geopolitical and economic challenges and its effect on foreign direct investment.
"AIM Global 2023 will enable the UAE to increase its contribution to the regional and international efforts that aim to enhance the global business landscape reiterating the UAE’s status as a trade and investment hub, regionally and globally," Dr Al Zeyoudi said at the same event.
Foreign direct investment in the UAE has increased by 116 per cent in the past decade, as the country’s economy continues to grow despite pandemic-driven headwinds.
Total FDI rose to $20.7 billion in 2021 from $9.6 billion in 2012, state news agency Wam reported this year, citing a report from the Ministry of Economy.
The UAE also signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreements with India, Indonesia and Israel, and is currently holding negotiations with Turkey, Georgia, Colombia and Cambodia as it aims to strengthen trade and economic ties with different countries.
Defined benefit and defined contribution schemes explained
Defined Benefit Plan (DB)
A defined benefit plan is where the benefit is defined by a formula, typically length of service to and salary at date of leaving.
Defined Contribution Plan (DC)
A defined contribution plan is where the benefit depends on the amount of money put into the plan for an employee, and how much investment return is earned on those contributions.
Results
1. Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes) 1hr 32mins 03.897sec
2. Max Verstappen (Red Bull-Honda) at 0.745s
3. Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes) 37.383s
4. Lando Norris (McLaren) 46.466s
5.Sergio Perez (Red Bull-Honda) 52.047s
6. Charles Leclerc (Ferrari) 59.090s
7. Daniel Ricciardo (McLaren) 1:06.004
8. Carlos Sainz Jr (Ferrari) 1:07.100
9. Yuki Tsunoda (AlphaTauri-Honda) 1:25.692
10. Lance Stroll (Aston Martin-Mercedes) 1:26.713,
Everton 1 Stoke City 0
Everton (Rooney 45 1')
Man of the Match Phil Jagielka (Everton)
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Stats at a glance:
Cost: 1.05 billion pounds (Dh 4.8 billion)
Number in service: 6
Complement 191 (space for up to 285)
Top speed: over 32 knots
Range: Over 7,000 nautical miles
Length 152.4 m
Displacement: 8,700 tonnes
Beam: 21.2 m
Draught: 7.4 m
Our legal advisor
Rasmi Ragy is a senior counsel at Charles Russell Speechlys, a law firm headquartered in London with offices in Europe, the Middle East and Hong Kong.
Experience: Prosecutor in Egypt with more than 40 years experience across the GCC.
Education: Ain Shams University, Egypt, in 1978.
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Who has lived at The Bishops Avenue?
- George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
- Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
- Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
- Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
- Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
- The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
- Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
