The UAE has started talks for a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (Cepa) with Ecuador as the Arab world’s second-largest economy continues to focus on strengthening trade ties with different countries across the globe.
The UAE has so far signed 11 Cepas with countries including India, Turkey, Israel, Indonesia, Cambodia, Georgia, as well as with Mauritius, Kenya, the Republic of Congo, Colombia and Costa Rica.
It is currently holding talks to conclude new deals with Serbia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Ukraine and New Zealand, while negotiations with South Korea have been completed.
“The commencement of negotiations with Ecuador aligns with the UAE's continuing efforts to cement its status as a global trade, investment, and logistical hub,” Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, UAE Minister of State for Foreign Trade, told the state-run Wam news agency.
“These efforts aim to expand trade relations with ….. Ecuador, a key trading and investment ally, with shared objectives of driving sustainable economic growth in both nations.”
In 2023, non-oil bilateral trade between the UAE and Ecuador reached $675 million, marking a 76 per cent annual increase and more than tripling the figures recorded in 2021.
DP World is also investing in Ecuador's Port of Posorja, with investments valued at $1.2 billion.
“The initiation of Cepa negotiations with the UAE represents a pivotal step in expanding economic ties, with active participation from both countries' business communities, private sectors, and investors,” Sonsoles Garcia, Ecuador’s Minister of Production, Foreign Trade, Investments and Fisheries, said.
Agriculture, tourism, infrastructure, technology and renewable energy are some of the sectors where UAE and Ecuador are looking for opportunities to strengthen economic ties, according to Wam.
The UAE has renewable energy investments in several countries through Abu Dhabi's clean energy company Masdar.
The UAE–Ecuador Cepa, if finalised, would be the third such deal with a Latin American nation following agreements with Costa Rica and Colombia last week.
The new announcement comes as the UAE seeks to boost non-oil foreign trade to more than Dh4 trillion ($1 trillion) by 2031 amid new trade agreements with different countries and economic diversification plans.
The UAE's non-oil foreign trade hit a record Dh3.5 trillion in 2023, up from Dh2.23 trillion in 2022 as the country's trade with its top 10 most important foreign partners grew by 26 per cent last year.
Non-oil trade with Turkey, which contributed 5.1 per cent to the UAE's total, grew by 103.7 per cent year on year in 2023, the highest among the top 10 trading partners. This came after the two countries brought their Cepa into effect in September.
Trade with India, which signed a Cepa with the UAE in May 2022, grew by 3.9 per cent, accounting for more than 7.6 per cent of the total trade, the Emirates announced in February.
The UAE is expected to exceed its initial target of signing 26 Cepas because of its pace of work and interest from other countries, Dr Al Zeyoudi, told The National in March.
It also aims to conclude more trade deals with African countries, according to Juma Al Kait, assistant undersecretary for international trade affairs at the Ministry of Economy.
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The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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