UAE. The Emirate of Abu Dhabi has identified a number of key priority
industries so as to achieve development of the industrial sector in a
more focused manner.
In his inaugural address at the Economist World in 2008 Executive
Forum which opened in Abu Dhabi today, Jaber Al Khaili , ZonesCorp CEO
said Abu Dhabi would focus on: (1) Targeting export oriented
industries; (2) Developing and supporting SMEs; (3) Creating incentives
to attract quality foreign investments.
The selection of industries, he said, will be based on capital
intensive; energy intensive; high value added; high labour
productivity; and the ability to create linkages with Abu Dhabi's
natural oil resources.
He added that Abu Dhabi's capability in oil refining can form the
backbone of developing a strong manufacturing base. A comprehensive and
concerted effort in designing an industrial strategy based on concepts
of industrial clustering and linkages based on a competitive advantage
base must be planned and carried out to target new industries to
promote Abu Dhabi.
On the future of industrial sector in the region, he said the MENA
region is a strategically located and economically diverse region.
Recently, the region has been experiencing exceptional economic growth,
buoyed by record high oil prices. Quoting the World Bank statistics,
over the last three years, economic growth in the region has averaged
6.1% per annum, the strongest in the region in nearly three decades.
This is up from an average annual growth of 3.7% over the 1990s.
The economy of the United Arab Emirates has grown by 6% per annum on
average in real terms over the past decade. In 2003-2006, the real
growth rate exceeded 9% per year, not only due to the rising price of
hydrocarbons but also due to the successful embracement of
diversification programmes.
According to the World Bank Group statistics, With a population of
4.6 million in 2006 representing less than 1.5% of the MENA population,
the UAE enjoyed a gross domestic product (GDP) in 2005 of AED 475
billion (approximately US$129.7 billion) representing approximately 21%
of the MENA GDP.
In July 2007, the Energy Information Administration revealed that
the UAE holds the fifth largest proven oil reserves in the Middle East
and the fifth largest proven natural gas reserves in the world.
Investment of hydrocarbon income surpluses into infrastructure and
large projects has contributed to the diversification of the UAE
economy: petroleum and natural gas now account for about one third of
the UAE GDP (down from 74% in 1980).
Non-hydrocarbon GDP growth is expected to remain strong, supported
mainly by large public investments in the tourism, transport, and
construction sub-sectors. The three pillars for sustainable economic
growth remain energy, industry, and services.
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