Abu Dhabi policies gain investors' favour

dubai - 98.4% of investors feel the policies in Abu Dhabi are effective and efficient

Abu Dhabi enjoys strong confidence among foreign investors over its policies. A latest survey for 2017 revealed that nearly 98.4 per cent of investors feel the policies are effective and efficient as compared to 97.1 per cent in 2016.

Launched by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (Added), the Foreign Direct Investment Transparency Index for 2017 results showed that 84 per cent of investors believe the Abu Dhabi government's policies to attract and promote FDI are effective while 14.6 per cent said these are adequate.

The survey was revealed at the Annual Investment Meeting 2018.

With regard to the costs incurred for registration and licensing, 62.4 per cent of survey respondents said these do not pose any problem while making an investment in the UAE capital. The opinions were varied - some of them (13.4 per cent) said they represent a simple problem; whereas around 18.6 per cent think it is a problem of moderate difficulty.

About the level of difficulty in obtaining information on changes of policies and regulations of the government of Abu Dhabi regarding foreign investors, nearly 81.4 per cent said it is not a problem or an obstacle. However, 18.6 per cent pointed out that it poses a simple problem.

Khalifa bin Salem Al Mansouri, the Undersecretary of the Department of Economic Development - Abu Dhabi, said the government is keen to improve services quality and also enhance the institutional, legal and procedural performance.

He said the Added strives to enable the private sector to effectively contribute to various economic activities and provide investors with information and data about the investment environment in the emirate.

According to the Statistics Centre - Abu Dhabi, the UAE capital received Dh108 billion worth of FDI last year compared to Dh100.88 billion in 2016, a growth of 7.1 per cent year on year. The real estate sector made the highest contribution to FDI with Dh29.9 billion in 2017 and Dh27.9 billion in 2016.

Meanwhile, FDI in processing industries in 2017 increased to Dh19.2 billion from Dh18 billion in 2016. Construction and building activity FDI increased from Dh8.10 billion in 2016 to Dh9.2 billion in 2017.

FDI inflow into exploration industries, which includes crude oil and natural gas, grew from Dh17.4 billion in 2016 to Dh18.2 billion in 2017.

The UK came in first place with a total investment value of Dh14.5 billion. Austria came in second place with a total investment of Dh14.3 billion, whereas France came in third place with investments totalling Dh7.7 billion.

- waheedabbas@khaleejtimes.com