The UAE may relax foreign investment laws to allow 100% international ownership of projects, particularly in the industrial sector, a government minister said on Wednesday.
The UAE’s Minister of Economy, Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, said there was nothing to be feared from foreign investment, Emirates Business 24/7 reported on Thursday.
Speaking at a meeting at the Abu Dhabi Higher Corporation for Specialised Economic Zones (ZonesCorp), Al Mansouri said successful international investment would work to protect nationals.
“As long as this investment [by foreign investors] is useful for the country, why should foreigners not own these projects, especially if these business projects involve a huge amounts of capital, and big companies and countries compete for them,” the newspaper quoted.
Al Mansouri acknowledged the issue was “sensitive”, but the protection of nationals would be guaranteed.
The Ministry of Economy would promote discussion on the issue, the newspaper said.
Hussein Jassim Al Nuwais, chairman of the Zonescorp executive committee, said the ownership law was signifacnt for the attraction of foreign investors to Abu Dhabi.
“We have a lot of raw materials, especially in the petrochemical sector, which we export to China and Japan. Then we buy them back after manufacturing at a huge cost. If we set up industries for these materials in Abu Dhabi, we would make huge profits,” the newspaper quoted Al Nuwais.
“We offered big international firms huge industrial projects and they liked them. We discussed the required procedures, then the investors asked for full ownership, and the projects stopped, despite being highly important.”
Al Nuwais identified three areas that require huge investment and would potentially benefit from foreign ownership – petrochemicals, aluminum and iron. All three industries, he said, require a large amount of capital and expertise to run effectively.
Foreign investment in the emirate is already a major force driving economic growth.
In February, ZonesCorp said the current allowance of 49% foreign ownership will be considerably increased in sectors that are most in need of foreign investments.
The legislation would be part of the government's efforts to encourage investment in the emirate as it looks to spend $200 billion transforming the capital into an ultra-modern city over the next 12 years, under its Abu Dhabi Plan 2030 development strategy. Source
The UAE’s Minister of Economy, Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, said there was nothing to be feared from foreign investment, Emirates Business 24/7 reported on Thursday.
Speaking at a meeting at the Abu Dhabi Higher Corporation for Specialised Economic Zones (ZonesCorp), Al Mansouri said successful international investment would work to protect nationals.
“As long as this investment [by foreign investors] is useful for the country, why should foreigners not own these projects, especially if these business projects involve a huge amounts of capital, and big companies and countries compete for them,” the newspaper quoted.
Al Mansouri acknowledged the issue was “sensitive”, but the protection of nationals would be guaranteed.
The Ministry of Economy would promote discussion on the issue, the newspaper said.
Hussein Jassim Al Nuwais, chairman of the Zonescorp executive committee, said the ownership law was signifacnt for the attraction of foreign investors to Abu Dhabi.
“We have a lot of raw materials, especially in the petrochemical sector, which we export to China and Japan. Then we buy them back after manufacturing at a huge cost. If we set up industries for these materials in Abu Dhabi, we would make huge profits,” the newspaper quoted Al Nuwais.
“We offered big international firms huge industrial projects and they liked them. We discussed the required procedures, then the investors asked for full ownership, and the projects stopped, despite being highly important.”
Al Nuwais identified three areas that require huge investment and would potentially benefit from foreign ownership – petrochemicals, aluminum and iron. All three industries, he said, require a large amount of capital and expertise to run effectively.
Foreign investment in the emirate is already a major force driving economic growth.
In February, ZonesCorp said the current allowance of 49% foreign ownership will be considerably increased in sectors that are most in need of foreign investments.
The legislation would be part of the government's efforts to encourage investment in the emirate as it looks to spend $200 billion transforming the capital into an ultra-modern city over the next 12 years, under its Abu Dhabi Plan 2030 development strategy. Source
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