Abu Dhabi: The president of Boeing International said that he is very optimistic about growth in the aviation sector in 2015.

In the session titled ‘Financing from 30,000 feet — An aerial view of capital movements’, Marc Allen, president of Boeing, elaborated on the financing and growth opportunities that exist in this sector.

“In the UAE, 2015 is the year of innovation and we completely relate to that. Innovation drives efficiency, which in turn drives economic growth. We, at Boeing, strive to be innovative and thus promote economic growth. We believe that the Gulf region is the central connector between the West-East Corridor.”

According to Marc Allen, the aviation industry is unique and one cannot succeed without extensive product knowledge.

“The asset strength of a plane is unique and it is imperative to know all the aspects of this asset.”

Highlighting the business opportunities in the region, Marc Allen said that 30 per cent of the wide-bodied backlog orders are with the Gulf carriers including Emirates, Etihad and Qatar Airways.

“We’ve been growing about 5 per cent in the last four years,” he said.

He said Boeing’s backlog orders of aeroplanes exceed $500 billion (Dh1.83 trillion) globally.

On falling oil prices he said it is good for the airline industry. “It helps reduce operating costs.”

Oil prices have dropped more than 50 per cent since June 2014, thus benefiting the airlines industry. Though operational costs have fallen, airlines are yet to announce major changes in their tariff policies.

The two-day Global Financial Markets Forum ended on Monday. Prominent speakers from the UAE and global decision makers, thought leaders, investors and financiers participated in the event that attracted nearly 1,500 delegates.

Panellists discussed various topics including challenges facing sovereign wealth funds (SWFs) on Monday. Panellists agreed that the environment would be very difficult this year. However, SWFs are designed for the long term and that they can stomach the liquidity squeeze.

They also discussed the impact of oil prices on investments and low interest rates.

“The low interest rate environment will force us to put more money in equity markets and this year we are allocating more [to] emerging markets,” said Uche Orji, chief executive officer of the Nigerian Sovereign Investment Authority.