The national committee for the In-Country Value (ICV) programme, headed by the UAE Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT), launched an artificial intelligence-driven digital platform to help companies obtain the national ICV certificate.
The new platform offers various advantages, such as automating the certification process that can save companies up to 40 per cent in time and costs, the government said in a statement on Wednesday.
The platform will allow users to view the status of their application and enhance governance and transparency. It aims to empower the industrial sector and develop future industries in the Emirates.
The new digital platform embodies MoIAT’s innovative approach to empowering the industrial sector, enhancing its in-country value, and facilitating the adoption of technology
Omar Al Suwaidi,
undersecretary of MoIAT
“The new platform is in line with the UAE Government Charter for Future Services, providing digital services in a seamless manner through a unified digital interface that meets human needs, lifestyle and future,” Omar Al Suwaidi, undersecretary of MoIAT and chairman of the national committee for ICV programme, said.
“The new digital platform embodies MoIAT’s innovative approach to empowering the industrial sector, enhancing its in-country value, and facilitating the adoption of technology to boost productivity and reduce resource consumption,” Mr Al Suwaidi said.
The platform also utilises blockchain technology. It includes a bidding process feature, which enables users to select the certifying body, in addition to a feature that notifies the Emirates Development Bank of users interested in the incentives offered by the bank.
The ICV programme, part of the UAE's Projects of the 50 that was launched in September, aims to boost the growth of UAE-based industries by redirecting half of government spending on procurements and tender contracts into the national economy by 2031. Last year, it redirected more than Dh41 billion ($11.2bn) of spend into the national economy.
The program aims to increase the number of ICV-certified companies and increase spend towards Emirati products and services from Dh33bn in 2020 to Dh55bn by 2025.
It has expanded significantly since its launch, with more than 45 federal and local government entities and 17 national companies having signed up for it.
It offers growth opportunities for companies in priority sectors, such as heavy industries, space technology, hydrogen, medical technology, advanced manufacturing, food and beverages, AgriTech, pharmaceuticals, electronic equipment, machinery and equipment, petrochemicals, and rubber and plastics.
Last year, the UAE announced Operation 300bn, a 10-year strategy to increase the industrial sector's contribution to the country's gross domestic product to Dh300bn and strengthen the Make it in the Emirates initiative. Both initiatives have the goal of transforming the nation into a manufacturing powerhouse.
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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.”
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