US, Austria, France, UK and Saudi Arabia were among the top source markets
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai and chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai, launched the latest Dubai FDI Monitor report, showing that inward foreign direct investment flows to Dubai rose 7.1 per cent in 2017. WAM
Dubai attracted Dh27.3 billion ($7.4bn) of inward foreign direct investment (FDI) last year, a 7.1 per cent increase from the previous year bolstered by investment projects from the US, Europe and Saudi Arabia, according to official statistics.
In particular, the emirate is a top global destination to invest in technology and technology transfer, with medium- and high-tech ventures accounting for more than 60 per cent of investment projects, the latest Dubai FDI Monitor report, published on Sunday, showed. Research & development accounted for 3.5 per cent of total FDI into Dubai in 2017, the report added.
“The increase in FDI flows into Dubai and the emirate’s ability to maintain its global leadership among FDI destinations in 2017 reflects the confidence of local and international investors in the business environment in Dubai and the UAE,” said Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council of Dubai.
Dubai and the UAE government as a whole have been taking steps to increase FDI inflows in recent years. These measures include encouraging new businesses to set up in economic free zones with lower registration costs, streamlining regulation in emerging growth sectors such as FinTech, and, last month, announcing plans to relax corporate ownership laws to allow foreign investors to own 100 per cent of a UAE company.
Efforts to increase FDI are part of broader measures to boost the contribution of the non-oil sector to the UAE economy to 80 per cent by 2021, from the current 70 per cent, following sluggish economic growth on the back of low oil prices.