Trade & Investment

Abu Dhabi has long been associated with buy-side investment activity, thanks largely to its success in transforming fiscal surpluses into global investments aimed at ensuring future economic security. However, after two full years of lower oil prices, Abu Dhabi’s attractiveness as a destination for inward investment has become more pertinent, with the government seeing boosting foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows as a useful means of mitigating its spending cuts. The same pressures highlight the importance of diversifying the emirate’s export basket, which is dominated by oil and related products. The UAE’s strong performance in indexes such as the World Economic Forum’s “Global Enabling Trade Report” illustrates Abu Dhabi’s capacity to boost its non-oil export activity, and realising this potential is now a strategic imperative.

This chapter contains interviews with Mohamed Thani Murshed Al Rumaithi, Chairman, Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry; and Ahmed Al Sayegh, Chairman, Abu Dhabi Global Market.