Abu Dhabi to be more 'investor-friendly'

Abu Dhabi will over the next five years seek more liberal economic policies, boost its industrial infrastructure and provide more support to small and medium-sized businesses, Department of Planning and Economy (DPE) officials said on Tuesday.

A new five-year strategic plan includes measures to ease the processing of licensing, in order to shape the emirate into a leading business and trade hub, DPE chairman Nasser Ahmed Al-Suweidi told reporters.

“The entire legal regime will be revamped as to encourage the flow of investments to the emirate. This overhaul will cover aspects such as licensing, transparency, free competition and incentives,” he said.

“In other words, the entire business climate will be made investor-friendly.”

The plan, which takes the emirate to 2012, has three main objectives, Al-Suweidi said, beginning with the achievement of a “rapid and sustainable” GDP.

It will also seek to further diversify the economy by reducing dependency on oil and increasing the share of the non oil sector, and thirdly will aim to speed the integration of Abu Dhabi into the global economy, by showcasing it as an investment hub, he added.

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The capital to get a new address system

The capital is to get a new address system to help everyone from residents to postal workers and emergency services locate streets, offices and houses quickly and logically.

The system, to be designed with the help of a Norwegian company, should replace the traditional Middle Eastern method of identifying locations by their proximity to landmarks or intersections "plus a bit of guesswork and luck" which can make finding an address a frustrating experience.

Juma Mubarak al Junaibi, the director-general of Abu Dhabi Municipality, said the new system being developed should "eliminate misunderstanding'' with respect to addresses and street directions.

''The aim was to give all areas and streets unique names and logical and sequentially structured numbering, Junaibi said in a statement issued in response to a query by The National. WAM

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Private sector needs restructuring

The Private sector needs to make better use of the available government incentives and stimulating policies to boost its capacity so as to raise its contribution to the Gross Domestic Product of Abu Dhabi (AED 401.6 bn in 2007) which stood at 18.2 per cent last year, according to the weekly media report issued by the emirate's Department of Planning and Economy.

Under the rapid transformations in the global economy, the report added, the government of Abu Dhabi would opt to widen the scope of coordination and cooperation with the private sector under the umbrella of a fresh true economic partnership that development goals and interests of all stakeholders.

For the government, the challenge ahead will be on how to create a flexible financial and economic environment taken into account regulations of the economic policy.

The report acknowledged that the private sector would also face unprecedented challenges.

''Private companies will have to examine strategic and operational options in light of fluctuated conditions that could come along with fast-moving liberalisation of world economy,''the report maintained.

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''The private sector needs to do more to increase its participation in the domestic economy although its share to the GDP of Abu Dhabi rose to 18.2 in 2007 from 17 in 2006 and 15.5 per cent in 2005,'' said the report on the outlook of economic development in Abu Dhabi titled ''Towards Greater Public-Private Partnership''.

The report noted that contribution of the oil and gas sector to the GDP dropped to 65.7 in 2007 from 66.3 in 2006 and 66 per cent in 2005.

''The emirate of Abu Dhabi is currently undertaking a massive government restructuring programme to come out with a formula of governance that could produce a sustainable constructive public-private partnership,''the report said.

It noted that initiatives launched by the policy agenda of the government of Abu Dhabi for 2007-2008 would open up new huge diverse opportunities for the private sector to enter into a strategic partnership with the government.

A package of major economic policies, the report indicated, would be released to provide stimulating business and investment environment under which a raft of mega strategic development projects would be launched with the purpose of infusing broader harmony and synergy between the two sectors.

''The private sector plays a key role in putting the vision of the government of Abu Dhabi in place. This invites the government to provide it with all resources of support and open up greater investment opportunities to enable it contribute effectively to national development,''the report stressed.

''Engagement of the private sector in the economic decision-making in the coming period will be a vital and dynamic move of far-reaching positive impact.

The report admitted that contribution of the private sector to the economic development is still under the aspired expectations.

''The sector suffers from structural defects that need comprehensive remedies. It also faces obstacles hindering it from integrating into global economy.

This requires overall restructuring to enable it keep abreast with requirements and developments of the current stage,''the report indicated.

The report spelt out features of policies that would improve efficiency of the private sector and help it contribute to domestic economy and development effectively. WAM

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The issuance of licenses for the tourism-related activities in Abu Dhabi goes online

The Abu Dhabi Tourism Authority (ADTA) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ADCCI) to facilitate the online completion of formalities for the issuance of new and renewal of existing licenses for the tourism-related activities in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi.
The unique facility of its kind is expected to become operational in a month's time and will eliminate the need of personal visits to both the offices by the license-holders or their representatives to get the work done.

The agreement was inked at the ADTA headquarters on Monday (March 24, 2008) by the ADTA Director General Mubarak Hamad Al Muhairi and ADCCI Director General Ahmed Hassan Al Mansouri.

Al Muhairi said the facility reflects the cooperation between various government organizations towards promoting tourism and enhancing the pace and transparency of conducting business transactions with the private sector organizations.

The e-government initiative is in line with the ADTA's mission of developing the tourism industry in the emirate in partnership with its stakeholders while ensuring the highest quality standards. It is also in line with the ADTA's values of innovation, customer focus and leadership.

Ahmed Hassan Al Mansouri said the efforts of the private sector was crucial for the success of government services being improved and expanded in the emirate in line with the Abu Dhabi government's vision.

This agreement, he said, would save the time and energy of the license-holders and businessmen who are interested in tourism sector investments. The MoU strongly highlights the closer cooperation enjoyed by the ADCCI and ADTA in strengthening the local economy.

In the first stage, the facility will be utilized for the renewal of licenses, while the issuance of new licenses will be made possible in the second phase. There are plans to link the facility with the Ministry of Labour and Ministry of Economy to enlarge the scope of its benefits to the tourism businesses.

This facility will be of immense benefit to the existing license holders in 18 tourism-related activities licensed by the ADTA.

They don't have to visit ADTA and ADCCI to get their license renewed. This includes hotels, hotel apartments, spas and travel agencies.

Under the programme, all the existing license holders will be provided usernames and passwords. To complete the formalities, they have to visit the ADTA website and log on to their individual webpage using the individual username and password. Once logged in, they will be able to browse through all the details about their company and the fines, if any, they have to pay. The fines can be paid online through e-dirham or credit card. The following day, ADTA representatives will visit their offices to handover the renewed license. WAM

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Food security in the country

The Federal National Council (FNC) discussed on Tuesday plans adopted by the Ministry of Economy to achieve food security in the country.

The house also debated amendments to three federal laws on commercial fraud, formation of the Federal Electricity and Water Authority and medical accountability.

Following debate with Minister of Economy Sultan Al Mansouri, members of the house unanimously passed amendments to the federal law no 17 of 2004 on commercial fraud. The executive regulations of the law will go into force by March 2009.

Members were divided over the law. Some called for immediate enforcement while others stood against it arguing that it would harm the interest of the country, citizen in favour of foreign investors.

Dr. Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for FNC Affairs, warned that non-enforcement of the law would invite a disaster though he called for implementing the legislation through logical and mature mechanisms.

He put the commercial fraud percentage at 80.

Speaking about food security, Al Mansouri said his ministry had backed strategies by the Ministry of Environment and Water for development of the agricultural sector and spurred the private sector to invest in the farming and poultry sectors.

''The ministry is conducting study for establishing foodstuff warehouses to supply the local market with its needs,''the minister disclosed.

He added that he would present the study to the house after six months.

Meanwhile, Health Minister Humaid Al Qattami unveiled that his ministry had taken a number of initiatives to engage the private health sector in some programmes dealing with diabetes and blood pressure.

He said that a series of legislations on pharmacological institutions and products had been prepared to cope with the latest developments in the health sector.

''A study on encouragement of the private investment in the health sector would be ready by October 2008,''he added. (WAM)

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The new cabinet ministers to implement national strategy

The ministers in the reshuffled Cabinet said they were eager to focus on securing a high level of quality for services provided to the public, under the guidelines set by His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai.

Minister of Health Humaid Mohammed Obaid Al Qutami said: “We pledge our commitment to the instructions of our wise leadership to provide medical care services in a far better way to the people in the UAE. We have to activate mechanisms required to efficiently implement the strategy in a record of time, under the directives of the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and Shaikh Mohammed.”

“In the health sector, we will mobilise all the energy and potential we have to prepare a blueprint for developing this vital sector. Our main focus will be implementing the articles of Shaikh Mohammed’s national strategy,” Al Qutami added.

The Minister of Justice, Dr Hadif Jowan Al Dhahiri, said his ministry will witness a qualitative leap during the coming phase regarding drafting of laws and legislations.

“The ministry will work to fully avail of the modern technology to facilitate procedures needed to issue verdicts so as to provide the public with quality services,” said Dr Dhahiri. “There is no doubt that we have a big responsibility, which requires cooperation of all other authorities concerned. In the justice sector more efforts should be exerted to develop legislation to streamline the political, tourist, economic and social sectors, especially as the UAE is internationally recognised for its security, and political and social stability.”

Minister of Labour Saqr Gobash Saeed Gobash, said he was very happy with his new assignment and promised to resolve the labour issues.

Minister of Education Dr. Hanif Hassan said, “We started a plan to improve the education outcome to meet the developments globally and to meet the needs of the labour market by graduating qualified nationals.”

“We also will work in the new stage to pay attention to private education to improve the standards on par with international standards,” he said.

Abdul Rahman Mohammed Al Owais, who retained his portfolio of Minister of Culture, Youth and Community Development, said the coming years will witness a boost in the cultural cooperation with various countries.”

He added that the ministry has plans to enhance dialogue between the different cultures as the UAE is home to more than 200 nationalities. Source

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News Flash .. UAE cabinet reshuffled

UAE President H.H Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan today re-shuffled the Cabinet.

The new Cabinet includes four women, as compared to just two in the previous cabinet....to be continued. (WAM)

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Criteria for loans granted by the Zayed Housing Scheme

The Federal National Council (FNC) yesterday approved the formation of a sub-committee to study and recommend the eligibility criteria for loans granted by the Zayed Housing Scheme.

The committee has been asked to speed up identifying the criteria to address the flaws of the present housing system and help in deciding on the pending applications.

The FNC session was attended by Shaikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, Minister of Public Works, and Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for FNC Affairs.

The meeting discussed the report of the Islamic Affairs and Awqaf (Endowments) and the public facilities provided in the Zayed Housing Scheme.

The council members called for fair treatment in considering the applications. They said the lack of clear policy guidelines had resulted in the delay in deciding on the applications, some of which had been pending for more than 25 years.

This, they said, had raised doubts about the success of the scheme in meeting the housing needs of the nationals.

Shaikh Hamdan bin Mubarak said soft loans for building 40,000 houses, which His Highness Shaikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, had ordered, would be distributed among the citizens.

More than 38,000 applications for this scheme had been received. They would be studied separately in order to pick the eligible candidates. These 40,000 houses were scheduled to be constructed within the next five years, he noted.

The applications would be decided according to the applicants’ present situation, including the urgent nature of their need for houses, he said. Complete impartiality would be followed in the distribution of houses, which would be strictly on the basis of the information mentioned in the applications. The ministry would verify the credibility of the information from the municipalities, he said.

Therefore, the lack of information in some applications and failure of applicants to update the same according to their living conditions would be taken as proof that they were not in dire need of loans, he said.

Shaikh Hamdan called on the media to project a clear and proper picture about the eligibility criteria for entitlement and selection of recipients of housing loans.

Meanwhile, the council members sought the drafting of a recommendation to be put forward to the government on withdrawing the grants for housing from the emirates and local governments which do not pay attention to the issue and, instead, give these grants to other entitled emirates which spare no effort in providing a decent life to their citizens.

This, they said, would achieve the principle of equality and meet the needs of the areas, whose residents had been complaining especially regarding their urgent need for houses. Source

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Entrepreneurs

The Sheikh Khalifa Fund for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises has so far funded 46 ventures worth AED 47.2 million, its chairman disclosed on Sunday.

Hussein Al Nowais stated that the fund, which was set up in June 2007, has received more than 2000 applications for financing new enterprises and expansion of existing units in Abu Dhabi, Al Ain and Western Region.

''The Fund is conducting in-depth studies to assess the feasibility of proposed projects in order to guarantee their success,'' he added.

The financing, he explained, were offered to projects in the industrial, services and agricultural sectors. However, he noted, the services sector has accounted for 27 per cent (33 projects) of total financed enterprises. (WAM)

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