Dubai: Dubai is fast emerging as a hot destination for foreign direct investments (FDIs), especially in high tech industries and new technologies, according to the Dubai FDI Monitor annual report on FDI trends and inflows issued by the Dubai Investment Development Agency (Dubai FDI), an agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED).
Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, said that the increase in foreign direct investment (FDI) flows into Dubai and the emirate’s ability to maintain its global leadership among FDI destinations in 2017 reflects the confidence of local and international investors in the business environment in Dubai and the UAE.
“The vision of His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has made Dubai a world leader in attracting investments into cutting-edge technologies like Artificial Intelligence and Robotics, and positioned the emirate in the forefront of cities strengthening the foundations of their future and economic prospects,” Shaikh Hamdan said in a statement issued by Dubai Media Office on Sunday.
In the Dubai FDI Monitor report, the city ranked first globally in the share of FDI in technology transfer in artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics and third among the top 25 destinations in the same category after Singapore and Shanghai, according to the Financial Times’ “FDI Benchmark”, a leading platform for benchmarking the world’s key FDI destinations. The latest data shows that Dubai has the highest FDI focus on the technology component across business sectors.
According to the Dubai FDI Monitor report for 2017, investment in research and development (R&D) accounted for about 3.5 per cent of total FDI projects, whereas medium and high-tech projects constituted more than 60 per cent of the total.
Dubai was ranked fourth globally in the number of new investment projects, fifth in the number of re-investment projects and 10th in capital inflows into new investment projects, according to the Financial Times ‘fDi Markets’ index, which records data on capital flows and new FDI projects around the world.
FDI growth
Total investments reached Dh27.3 billion in 2017, an increase of 7.1 per cent over 2016, while the number of projects increased 50 per cent from the previous year to reach 367 in 2017. The projects include new investments, re-investments and mergers & acquisitions (M&As), among others.
The 2017 data showed that Dubai continued to attract strategic investments from the major industrialised countries in 2017. Strategic projects with a capital of more than $50 million (Dh183.5 million) accounted for 54 per cent of total investment projects and 93 per cent of total capital inflows.
The US, Austria, France, the UK and Saudi Arabia were the top source markets for FDI into Dubai in 2017. The US topped the list of investment projects followed by the UK, France, India and Germany.
