Chinese investments in the UAE increased by more than 16 per cent annually in 2023 to $1.3 billion, as economic ties between the countries strengthened, a senior diplomat said.
The amount accounted for 60 per cent of the Asian nation's total investment in Arab countries, Zhang Yiming, China’s ambassador to the UAE, told the China-Arab Entrepreneurs Summit in Abu Dhabi on Wednesday.
The UAE boosted its investments in China by 120 per cent last year, accounting for “90 per cent of Arab countries' investments in China”, Mr Zhang said.
The co-operation between the UAE and China is “multifaceted” and the Emirates “remains China’s second-largest trading partner, the largest export market and the third largest engineering market among Arab countries”, he added.
The UAE is introducing measures to attract more foreign direct investment as it focuses on diversifying its economy away from oil.
The UAE was ranked as the third-largest FDI market globally in terms of project activity in 2023, moving up from fourth the previous year, according to the latest report by data and analytics company GlobalData.
Last year, the Emirates attracted $23 billion of FDI in 1,277 projects spanning business and professional services, software and IT services and financial services among others, the report said.
China is also boosting ties around the world as it faces increased pressure from the US on the export of goods and investments to the world's largest economy.
On Tuesday, US President Joe Biden unveiled steep tariffs on Chinese imports, including on electric vehicle batteries, to protect its industries.
“The UAE and Saudi Arabia have become gateways for Chinese companies to go overseas and the GCC countries have also co-operated with China,” Mr Zhang said.
Gulf sovereign wealth funds have “directly acquired and invested in China to the amount of $2.3 billion”, he added.
This year, Investcorp, an alternative asset manager that counts Mubadala Investment Company as its biggest shareholder, teamed up with China’s sovereign wealth fund to launch a $1 billion fund that will invest in high-growth companies in Saudi Arabia, other GCC countries and China as it continues to expand its investment portfolio.
Other Gulf-based companies are increasing their investments in China.
This year, Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (Sabic), the Middle East's biggest petrochemicals company, said it finalised the investment of 44.8 billion yuan ($6.4 billion) in a joint venture in China, while Saudi Aramco is considering taking a 10 per cent stake in China’s Hengli Petrochemical.
Meanwhile, the value of trade between China and Arab countries rose to $500 billion in 2022, from $14.7 billion in 2011, “buoyed by both growing demand and rising oil prices”, according to a new report by Sino International Entrepreneurs Federation and Oliver Wyman.
With the introduction of the Belt and Road Initiative in 2013, China-Arab relations started to become more comprehensive and multifaceted, “going beyond the trade of energy and goods, to the fields of finance, investment, science and technology, and culture”, the China-Arab Finance and Investment report said.
The report also said China’s outbound construction contracts to Arab states reached a total of $61.5 billion by 2021, the highest total outside Asia.
“While construction projects are still important, digital and technological solutions and clean energy projects, among other sectors, have risen to account for a growing share of China’s activity in the region,” the report said.
Since 2013, China has been considered the primary investor in the Middle East economic and artificial intelligence sector, according to a 2020 report by the Washington Institute.
China and the UAE signed a memorandum of understanding in 2015 that paved the way for high-level education partnerships.
In 2019, China AI giant SenseTime signed a deal with Abu Dhabi to base its regional research and development headquarters in the emirate, to create hundreds of jobs.
The UAE and China are expected to continue to boost their investment co-operation in sectors including manufacturing, new energy and financial services, Tony Dong, chief representative of Sino International Entrepreneurs Federation, told The National on the sidelines of the summit on Wednesday.
More companies are planning to open factories in the UAE because of its “strategic location linking Europe, America and Africa as well as business-friendly policies of the government”, Mr Dong added.
Last year, the Abu Dhabi Investment Office also teamed up with Hong Kong-based Arte Capital to help Chinese companies expand in the Mena region.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ogram%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Karim%20Kouatly%20and%20Shafiq%20Khartabil%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20On-demand%20staffing%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2050%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMore%20than%20%244%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20round%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Series%20A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EGlobal%20Ventures%2C%20Aditum%20and%20Oraseya%20Capital%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Saudi Cup race day
Schedule in UAE time
5pm: Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors Cup (Turf), 5.35pm: 1351 Cup (T), 6.10pm: Longines Turf Handicap (T), 6.45pm: Obaiya Arabian Classic for Purebred Arabians (Dirt), 7.30pm: Jockey Club Handicap (D), 8.10pm: Samba Saudi Derby (D), 8.50pm: Saudia Sprint (D), 9.40pm: Saudi Cup (D)
RACECARD
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
Winner: Ferdous, Szczepan Mazur (jockey), Ibrahim Al Hadhrami (trainer)
5.30pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-3 Group 3 (PA) Dh300,000 2,400m
Winner: Basmah, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel
6pm: UAE Arabian Derby Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 2,200m
Winner: Ihtesham, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6.30pm: Emirates Championship Group 1 (PA) Dh1,000,000 2,200m
Winner: Somoud, Patrick Cosgrave, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
7pm: Abu Dhabi Championship Group 3 (TB) Dh380,000 2,200m
Winner: GM Hopkins, Patrick Cosgrave, Jaber Ramadhan
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Conditions (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: AF Al Bairaq, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
Hidden killer
Sepsis arises when the body tries to fight an infection but damages its own tissue and organs in the process.
The World Health Organisation estimates it affects about 30 million people each year and that about six million die.
Of those about three million are newborns and 1.2 are young children.
Patients with septic shock must often have limbs amputated if clots in their limbs prevent blood flow, causing the limbs to die.
Campaigners say the condition is often diagnosed far too late by medical professionals and that many patients wait too long to seek treatment, confusing the symptoms with flu.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
The biog
Name: Atheja Ali Busaibah
Date of birth: 15 November, 1951
Favourite books: Ihsan Abdel Quddous books, such as “The Sun will Never Set”
Hobbies: Reading and writing poetry
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
Abu%20Dhabi%E2%80%99s%20Racecard
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