26 billion dirhams UAE direct investments in Lebanon

ABU DHABI - The second UAE-Lebanese Investment Forum was held in Abu Dhabi yesterday in the presence of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

Hariri called on UAE investment companies to increase their investments in Lebanon, praising the UAE's attitudes towards Lebanon, especially in the reconstruction phase.

In turn, the Ministry of Economy reported that the UAE markets attracted Lebanese direct investments that exceeded $ 2.2 billion until the beginning of 2018, while the balance of UAE direct investments in Lebanon until 2016 amounted to more than $ 7.1 billion (about 26 billion dirhams).

Investment Forum

In detail, the activities of the UAE-Lebanon Investment Forum were launched in Abu Dhabi yesterday in the presence of Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

In his speech during the forum, Hariri praised the UAE's stances towards Lebanon, especially in the reconstruction phase. He said that despite the difficult location and circumstances of Lebanon, it has great investment opportunities, especially in the areas of infrastructure, electricity and gas.

Hariri called on UAE investment companies to increase their investments in Lebanon, noting that the UAE has received Lebanese youth, provided them with job opportunities, and contributed to the consolidation of financial and social stability through remittances of Lebanese workers.

"The private sector in the UAE is dynamic and we hope to share with its Lebanese counterpart in the reconstruction of Lebanon," he said.

Strong economy

The Minister of Economy, Sultan Al-Mansouri, in response to a question to the UAE today about the fears of the slowdown economy, said that the global economy is going through a stage where challenges involving major countries, and put pressure on the global economy, and affected the movement of trade, which requires the direction of these States towards facilitating trade and investments between countries.

Al Mansoori stressed that the UAE has a strong and stable economy, pointing out that although the current growth rates are different from the last 10 years, there is positive growth, which is difficult in many countries of the world.

He explained that the UAE is more integrated with the global economy, so it is affected positively and negatively by what is happening globally, but what matters is that we have the ability to develop policies and procedures to ensure the continued growth of sectors.

Al-Mansouri pointed out that the fee reductions made during the past period, locally and federally, are a catalyst for business.He expected that economic circles will address in the future, the differences between the fees of the newly established and old business, in order to encourage companies and attract more investments, calling on local departments to consider this matter.

Trade and investment

In a reading of the indicators of trade and investment cooperation, Al Mansouri said that excellent progress was made last year in the non-oil trade exchange between the UAE and Lebanon, totaling more than $ 2.6 billion, a growth of 34% compared to 2017.

`` From 2017 to 2018, UAE imports from Lebanon grew by 21%, while re-exports from the UAE to Lebanon increased by more than 55%. ''

He added: `` According to the figures of the first quarter of 2019, we find that non-oil foreign trade between the two countries approached $ 700 million, achieving a growth of 37% compared to the same period in 2018, while these figures indicate that trade exchange between the two countries is tending to achieve The threshold of three billion dollars by the end of this year ».

He pointed out that the UAE is the largest Arab trade partner for Lebanon and the seventh largest trade partner in the world.It also ranks first in the world in receiving Lebanese exports, accounting for 14% of Lebanon's merchandise exports during 2018.

The investment side

According to the Ministry of Economy, the UAE markets have attracted Lebanese direct investments, which exceeded $ 2.2 billion until the beginning of 2018, with an annual growth rate of more than 39%, distributed over vital sectors such as the financial sector, real estate, wholesale trade, retail, manufacturing and technology. Information, communication, education, and logistics.

In contrast, the balance of UAE direct investments in Lebanon to 2016 amounted to more than $ 7.1 billion (about AED 26 billion), covering important sectors such as seaport operations, the pharmaceutical industry, IT services, air transport, tourism, hospitality and real estate activities. , Banking, energy, and petrochemical industries.

The banking sector

CBB Governor Mubarak Rashid Al Mansouri said: “The banking sector faces significant challenges, while working with Arab bank governors to help this sector, as well as with our local partners to develop a clear strategy for digital transformation and SMEs. We aim to develop solutions through digital identity, which will accelerate transactions, so that it takes an hour to open accounts for individuals and companies. ”

He stressed that the situation of the banking sector is good, and tests the effort of the sector in light of the decline in oil prices are all positive and reassuring.

2320 License

Hamad Almas, Executive Director of International Relations at the Department of Economic Development in Abu Dhabi, said that there are 2320 commercial licenses owned by Lebanese investors in Abu Dhabi.

Al-Mas explained that the existence of local and federal fees is a challenge for the business sector and that consultations are currently underway with the concerned authorities with the aim of reducing fees to ensure the competitiveness of the business.

Arab electricity market

Undersecretary of the Ministry of Energy and Industry, Dr. Matar Al-Neyadi, said that the UAE has started joint efforts to establish an Arab electricity market to ensure optimal participation and use of energy, and provide continuous electricity to countries, pointing out that it is in the process of establishing controls and governance frameworks.

Niyadi added that the Gulf linkage started in 2009, and now there are efforts to link the southern region of Basra to the Gulf network, pointing out that the Gulf countries annually produce 120 gigawatts of electricity, 70% of which can be exported as surplus use of electricity.