The UAE is among the top 12 countries in the World Bank's Logistics Performance Index, which shows that adopting digital technologies in supply chains, especially in emerging economies, can help countries reduce delays at ports by up to 70 per cent compared to those in developed nations.
Opting for environmentally-sustainable logistics options can also lessen the carbon footprint of supply chains and keep trade flowing by shifting to less carbon-intensive freight and more energy-efficient warehousing, the Washington-based lender said in its Logistics Performance Index 2023 report.
Demand for green logistics is on the rise, with 75 per cent of shippers looking for environmentally-friendly options when exporting goods to high income countries, the report found.
The Logistics Performance Index, a measure of countries’ ability to move goods across borders with speed and reliability, covers 139 nations.
It measures the ease of establishing reliable supply chain connections by looking at factors such as the quality of logistics services, trade- and transport-related infrastructure and border controls.
In the 2023 LPI, the top 12 scorers are high-income economies, with the UAE making it to the list, the report said.
Singapore, with a score of 4.3, is at the top, a position it also held in 2007 and 2012.
Of the top 12 scorers, eight are in Europe, with Finland scoring 4.2; Denmark, the Netherlands, and Switzerland all scoring 4.1; and Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Sweden scoring 4.0.
The UAE, Canada and Hong Kong also ranked among the top 12, on a score of 4.0, the index showed.
“While most time is spent in shipping, the biggest delays occur at seaports, airports, and multi-modal facilities. Policies targeting these facilities can help improve reliability,” said Christina Wiederer, senior economist with the World Bank Group’s macroeconomics, trade and investment global practice and the report’s co-author.
These policies include improving clearance processes, investing in infrastructure, adopting digital technologies and incentivising environmentally-sustainable logistics, the World Bank said.
The average dwell time, or the time containers spent in ports, between May and October last year, was three days for India and Singapore and four days for the UAE and South Africa, but seven days for the US and 10 for Germany.
Emerging economies tend to have shorter port delays than industrialised economies, possibly because of the lingering effects of the 2021-22 supply chain crisis, the effects of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on logistics in Europe, and the leapfrogging of richer economies in port productivity and digitalisation of end-to-end supply chains, the report found.
The Covid-19 pandemic-induced disruptions to shipping and the resulting global supply chain crisis created a challenging operating environment for companies.
Disruptions of global value chains have underscored the crucial importance of logistics systems, with supply chain resilience and its related national security implications emerging as top concerns for governments.
Geopolitical instability in Europe and continuing trade tensions between the US and China are also weighing on supply chains and world trade flows.
Logistics services were “broadly resilient” for both the top performers and bottom performers in the Logistics Performance Index, despite a more challenging operating environment, the World Bank said.
The top 10 countries with the best logistics performance continued to offer high-calibre services — rated 4.1 out of 5 on average compared with 4.0 in 2018. The average rating of the 10 worst performers did not fall, despite challenging circumstances, and remained at 2.1 out of 5, as in 2018.
The bottom 10 scorers were mostly low- and lower-middle-income countries. They are either fragile economies affected by armed conflict, natural disasters and political unrest, or landlocked countries challenged by geography or economies of scale in connecting to global supply chains.
Afghanistan and Libya had the lowest score (1.9), followed by Somalia (2.0) and Angola, Cameroon and Haiti (2.1).
“Logistics are the lifeblood of international trade, and trade in turn is a powerful force for economic growth and poverty reduction,” said Mona Haddad, global director for trade, investment, and competitiveness at the World Bank.
“The Logistics Performance Index helps developing countries identify where improvements can be made to boost competitiveness.”
For containers, the average time across all potential trade routes from entering the port of export to exiting the destination port is 44 days, with a standard deviation of 10.5 days, the report showed.
About 60 per cent of the time it takes to trade goods internationally is spent at sea but the biggest delays occur when containers are held up at the place of origin or destination — at ports, airports or other facilities, it said.
“Policies targeting these facilities, such as investing in port productivity, modernising customs and new technologies, can improve reliability,” the World Bank recommended.
Brief scores:
Juventus 3
Dybala 6', Bonucci 17', Ronaldo 63'
Frosinone 0
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
The%20Letter%20Writer
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Griselda
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20M3%20MACBOOK%20AIR%20(13%22)
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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
More from UAE Human Development Report:
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
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%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECreator%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESteven%20Knight%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMark%20Ruffalo%2C%20Hugh%20Laurie%2C%20Aria%20Mia%20Loberti%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2F5%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
World Cup warm-up fixtures
Friday, May 24:
- Pakistan v Afghanistan (Bristol)
- Sri Lanka v South Africa (Cardiff)
Saturday, May 25
- England v Australia (Southampton)
- India v New Zealand (The Oval, London)
Sunday, May 26
- South Africa v West Indies (Bristol)
- Pakistan v Bangladesh (Cardiff)
Monday, May 27
- Australia v Sri Lanka (Southampton)
- England v Afghanistan (The Oval, London)
Tuesday, May 28
- West Indies v New Zealand (Bristol)
- Bangladesh v India (Cardiff)
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
