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Foreign firms told to provide data

Speaking to Khaleej Times, Al Hashimi said that her team was facing many difficulties in information-gathering as companies provided very little information. The purpose of the database is to help foreign investors solve their problems, she added.

She said that most of the companies that did not cooperate with the researchers were based in Dubai and the northern emirates. "We held a meeting in Jabel Ali Industrial Area to give the companies an idea about the importance of the project. In the meeting, we passed on to them letters asking them to provide us with the necessary information. We will send the same letters in Arabic and English to companies in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in a few days," she explained.

She said that the delay in getting information was also due to the fact that some companies had changed their portfolio or shut down without informing the concerned department. Some companies did receive the forms sent to them, but failed to return them with the necessary data, she added.

Nada Al Hashimi assured the confidentiality of the information provided to the team. Details about individual companies will not be publicised, she emphasised.

She said that the total direct foreign investments in fourteen Arab countries was $7.16 billion and this was due to opening the petroleum, gas, and communication sectors to FDI. The UAE is ranked the third in FDI in the region with about $525 million worth of investments whereas Saudi Arabia and Egypt ranked the first and the second with $1.2 billion and $1.1 billion respectively.

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