Dubai: Attracting knowledge-intensive investments is a new trend for foreign direct investment (FDI) around the world, experts said at the last day of the Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) 2015 yesterday.
This trend seems to be occurring across the developed and developing countries as governments are involved in developing active policies to attract such business.
Investing in science and technology has a significant impact on the economies in which it is established and creates vibrant knowledge economy communities, which are anchored by leading global, regional and local names in the industry to facilitate knowledge transfer and job creation, Douglas Van Den Berghe, CEO of Investment Consulting Association (ICA) of Netherlands, said.
“Currently, foreign investors are interested to attract R&D [research and development] centres, given the importance of science, technology and innovative activities for economic growth and development,” he said.
However, to be successful in attracting such investment the policy framework has to be right and the host countries should have the capacity and a favorable ecosystem for science, technology and innovation activities, he said.
This year, the theme of the AIM 2015, “Sustainable Development through FDI Induced Innovation and Technology Transfer,” is aligned with the UAE strategy 2021 to build an economy that is based on knowledge, innovation and creativity.
By 2021, the knowledge-based economy aims to contribute by 5 per cent to the country’s Goss Domestic Product (GDP), according to the UAE Ministry of Economy.
The UAE Ministry of Economy announced that according to the country’s strategy, it will invest in science, technology and R&D.
According to Miguel Silva Constenla, co-founder and board member of Blusens in Spain and UAE, fostering technology transfer should take place in the framework of national strategy.
He said that he brought his business to Dubai because the government is encouraging technology and innovation.
Rui Coelho, Chief Executive, Invest Lisboa, Portugal, confirmed the need to have the right infrastructure to attract knowledge-intensive FDI. “This involves upgrading the educational system, which [will] help [in] generating [a] qualified labour force, establishing institutions and centres for R&D, and having an adequate intellectual property framework to protect investment.”
“UAE was traditionally recognised as a trading hub for the region. However, this perception has changed today. Innovation across all industries is being fostered in line with UAE Vision 2021,” he said.
