Dubai Silicon Oasis lures Dh19b in investment

Dubai: Current investment in Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority (DSOA) is worth Dh19 billion and the projects will be implemented by 2012, according to a senior official.

Jihad Kiwan, executive director of technology and investment generation, DSOA, said: "This is a start and our long term projects will be worth much more."

The Dubai government established DSOA a few years ago to attract investment in the semi-conductor sector and it is expected to support the region's information technology services sector.

Current IT spending in the Middle East and Africa is $40 billion (Dh146.8 billion), according to global IT research organisation International Data Corporation.

"The Gulf IT market is expected to be worth over $9 billion (Dh33 billion) by the end of this year," it said in a latest report.

However, experts say the region has been lagging behind in research and development in the information technology sector.

The Dubai Silicon Oasis Authority has attracted investments in two major factories within its premises. "There is a factory for laptop and flat panel display units and another for building films to capture solar energy," Kiwan said.

Circuit design centre

It is also developing its own circuit design centre, with ten engineers working on the latest technology, officials said.

"Major companies have design centres but this is the first initiative where a design centre is fully owned by an Emirati company," said Kiwan.

DSOA will be hosting the 17th annual International Electronics Forum, the first time ever in the Middle East.

"We are placing DSOA on the world map with the forum," said Shahla Ahmad Abdul Razak, deputy chief executive of DSOA.

Abdul Razak said the DSOA is investing in a software development company. "We have a 60 per cent share," she said.

"More growth is coming from developing countries," said Malcom Penn, organiser of the International Electronics Forum, and chairman and chief executive of Future Horizons, a semiconductor industry analyst firm.

"The UAE contributes around 25 per cent to the global growth average of 10 per cent," he said.

Outlook: IT spending to soar

• Dh146.8 billion is the size of IT spending in the Middle East and Africa
• Dh33 billion is the expected size of Gulf IT market this year.