Dubai plans to implement new measures to help boost economic growth, attract new investments and cut the cost of doing business across sectors ranging from tourism to financial services.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, UAE's Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, discussed the initiatives on Saturday with a group of government officials, the Dubai government’s media office said in a statement.
“We have instructed the relevant entities to facilitate business procedures, reduce the cost of doing business and dedicate all possible resources to ease investment activities without complications or hindrances,” Sheikh Mohamed said in the statement.
Dubai, the commercial and trading hub of the Arabian Gulf region and the most diversified GCC economy, is undertaking a series of measures to help boost growth to off set the impact of a slowdown in trade with regional peers.
Dubai’s economy, which fared relatively better than the other Gulf states during oil price slump, is forecast to accelerate in 2019 and reach 3.7 per cent as infrastructure development and diversification policies continue apace, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai said in December.
Real GDP, which grew 2.85 per cent in 2016, is projected to grow 3.5 per cent in 2018.
The initiatives announced on Saturday include payment of certain government fees in instalments, earmarking 20 per cent of government tenders to small and medium-sized enterprises and waiving commercial penalties and fines imposed by the Department of Economic Development on companies’ violations.
The department also presented a proposal to lower the operational costs for the retail sector in order to contain the increase in expenditures and boost investments in this sector.
The DED also proposed an initiative to offer incentives to some 1000 start-ups, particularly in the technology sector from emerging markets, to set up base in Dubai in order to make the emirate a hub for entrepreneurs.
The Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing presented a plan to attract more transit passengers to visit Dubai, a measure that could bring in an extra 1 million tourists.
The department also suggested introducing the time share concept to woo more families to visit the emirate, by listing between 500 to 1000 time share properties, a move that could help boost tourist numbers and encourage them to stay longer.
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The department also proposed new steps to help attract more private yachts and boats to visit the emirate and be serviced there as well.
The Dubai Land Department proposed plans to help attract international investment funds and Nasdaq-listed companies to invest in the real estate sector. The department also proposed coming up with alternative financing schemes for property investors, particularly small and medium-sized ones.
The Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation also put forward plans to facilitate foreign trade procedures to help boost foreign trade by Dh27 billion and use blockchain technology to help advance the industry.
The corporation also announced plans to develop an aluminium downstream industry that uses products manufactured by Emirates Global Aluminium, one of the world’s biggest producers of the metal.
The Dubai Islamic Economy Development Centre, which is tasked with turning Dubai into a capital for Islamic finance and Sharia-compliant economic activities, proposed plans to boost the listing of Islamic bonds in the emirate by creating platforms such as secondary market for listing sukuk of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Currently Nasdaq Dubai has $58.8bn worth of Islamic debt instruments listed, $7.35bn of which are new issues listed in the first quarter of this year.
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Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
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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.
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“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.”
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