Treasure hunt: UAE announces Investment Map

Treasure hunt: UAE announces Investment Map

The UAE Ministry of Economy has launched an Investment Map in hopes of reclaiming lost FDI. In the midst of possible market status upgrade, will this boost investor confidence?

June 20, 2011 11:02 by Precious de Leon

The UAE Ministry of Economy has announced that there will be UAE Investment Map, this Monday.

The move is in line with the Ministry’s strategic plans for 2011-2013 to “enhance the investment environment and the competitiveness of the national economy by targeting international markets and attracting large investment projects to the UAE,” according to a release announcing the Map.

So basically, it’s a stab at hopefully getting back some of the foreign investment that UAE enjoyed post 2008 and some of the investment that may have made a u-turn following regional unrest.

Kipp wouldn’t be surprised either if this has something to do with yesterday’s reports of the UAE and Qatar’s possible jump from ‘Frontier Market’ status to ‘Emerging Market’ status on index compiler MSCI’s report.

If you’re thinking the timing is a bit off as we’re almost half way done with 2011, and it’s summer; and the slowdown of business during Ramadan is on our heels, don’t fret because the announcement is only that they’re going to ‘have the map’. The map is actually going to be unveiled in November. And of course it will be during the UAE’s Investment Map conference, alongside a “specialised exhibition to introduce government services to key international investors.” So mark your calendars.

If you really can’t wait, here’s an idea of what you’ve got to look forward to:

“The UAE Investment Map will provide an overview of the investment opportunities in each Emirate in health, agriculture, real estate, alternative energy, SMEs, services, industry, education, and finance, among others sectors. In the first phase, the initiative aims to target markets such as Argentina, Brazil, Turkey, Germany, India, China and South Korea,” according to the release announcing the, er, imminent announcement.

Other areas that fall within the investment map include: aluminum industry, automotive, aviation, information technology, telecommunications, financial services, electronics, engineering and industrial technology, healthcare, petrochemical industry, education and knowledge industry, and the pharmaceutical industry.

Reassuringly, the initiative is still a part of the UAE Vision 2021 to drive the development of a knowledge-based economy.

In case you are not familiar with the UAE Vision 2021, the site is here and in a nutshell, here what they want to do:

“To achieve the Vision, the Federal Government Strategy 2011 – 2013 has set strategic directions, including the participation of UAE nationals and developing their capabilities; increasing efficiency, flexibility and productivity in the labor market; supporting small and medium enterprises; developing and promoting entrepreneurship; strengthening the regulatory framework of key sectors; encouraging and supporting existing and new sectors; promoting export development and promotion of the country’s position in international trade; and encouraging innovation and R&D.”