Dubai: The UK is helping local companies that want to invest in Expo 2020 in the UAE, including infrastructure projects, according to Vince Cable, UK business secretary.
“We have agreed [on] a £350 million [Dh2.1 billion] Expo 2020 credit” to support companies that are looking to supply goods and services to the Expo, he told reporters on Sunday.
“We have some very good specialist companies in architecture, design, engineering [and] consultancy.”
Besides investments for Expo 2020, the UK is looking at investing in a range of sectors.
“In terms of sheer quantity, it’s likely to be in the oil industry,” Cable told Gulf News.
According to him, British businesses are interested in investing in the financial and business services sectors.
“The overall investor regime in the Emirates is an attractive one, it’s transparent, it’s a good place to do business,” he said.
“Emirati companies are big investors in the UK,” he added.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi have made major investments in the UK.
Dubai’s DP World invested £1.5 billion in the London Gateway port, while Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s renewable energy company, has invested more than £500 million in the London Array project.
The 630-megawatt London Array is the world’s largest offshore wind farm.
Stable environment
Meanwhile, Cable has welcomed UAE businesses that want to invest in the UK.
The country has a stable business environment and regulations that investors can “rely on,” he said.
On whether Britain leaving the EU would make investors concerned, Cable said: “If you wanted to put a number on it, we’re probably talking about a five per cent risk.”
As the British economy improves, the country is trying to grow its successful industries. “We are trying to partner with [them] in the industrial strategy, whether it’s aerospace, vehicles, biotech, service [and] creative industries…,” Cable said.
He added that the manufacturing industry and the services sector are set for further growth.
“As this takes shape, Britain is now growing strongly for the long-term,” he said.
According to Cable, the UK economy is expected to grow between “2 [and] 2.5 per cent” in 2014.
He said that the UK is on track to meeting its target of £12 billion in bilateral trade with the UAE by 2015.
