Annual Investment Meeting (AIM) to highlight challenges facing energy sector from 11 13 April in Dubai

HE Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansoori, UAE Minister of Economy has hailed the UAE, as a safe and desired financial investment magnet, due to its security and safety aspects and political stability, in the midst of the region's political and financial stress. He further said that the UAE's sophisticated infrastructure and strong legal system has boosted its position as a special location for Foreign Direct Investment (FDI).

HE Al Mansoori pointed out that the Ministry aims to increase the contribution of FDI to 5 % of the nation's GDP over the next five years, in line with the objectives of the National Agenda of UAE Vision 2021. He stated that new and renewable energy sectors were essential to bring in foreign capital to the UAE in the coming duration, due to the giant tasks carried out by the UAE Government, mainly in renewable energy and retail.

HE Al Mansoori explained that the UAE understood the have to diversify its economy with less reliance on oil sector. Several years ago, the UAE began to lay the foundations of a strong and competitive business environment, while sealing a variety of trade cooperation arrangements, benefiting from its geographical area which connects it to more than 220 markets all over the world. He exposed that the ministry is currently working on an FDI law which would control assurances, rewards, and clarify institutional structure.

He mentioned that the accumulated foreign investment in the country had actually increased by the end of 2015 to USD 126 billion, compared to USD 115 billion at the end of 2014, supported primarily by enhanced financial investments in production and heavy industries, such as aluminum and petrochemicals, as well as other sectors like tourist and aviation. The increased FDI resulted in taking the UAE to No. 1 rank regionally and 22nd internationally in the World Investment Report 2015.

Stressing the importance of Annual Investment Meeting, he said it acts as a special platform to promote financial investment in numerous concern sectors, as well as offer a direct meeting point for federal government delegations, and competent institutions, due to the fact that it is participated in by numerous dignitaries, authorities and delegations from several nations. The occasion provides an ideal platform for cultivating partnerships in public and economic sectors.

Dawood Al Shezawi, Head of AIM organising committee, said that despite the considerable decline in oil prices worldwide, which is an obstacle for oil production business, it represented a fantastic opportunity for numerous companies, due to the lower costs of basic materials and the boost in demand for products leading to greater success margins.

Decrease in oil costs was good news for the world's most oil importing countries, mainly India, China and European nations. The US refineries benefited from this decrease, while the drop was a big difficulty for the countries producing and exporting oil.

Al Shezawi included that the style of the 6th Annual Investment Meeting is "The New World of FDI, Key Features and Best Practices". The occasion will help companies to understand the characteristics of world markets in light of the substantial decrease in oil prices. It will also assist investors understand the best ways to benefit from this downturn, and assist to develop well-defined investment techniques.

With the decline in oil prices in international markets and decreased spending by worldwide oil business, financial investment in renewable and clean energy sectors is on the rise. Clean energy investment rose in China, Africa, the United States, Latin America and India in 2015, driving the world total to its highest figure of $328.9 bn, up 4 % from 2014 changed $315.9 bn and beating the previous record set in 2011 by 3 %.

The most recent figures from Bloomberg New Energy Finance reveal dollar investment internationally growing in 2015 to nearly 6 times over 2004 total and a new record of one third of a trillion dollars, in spite of 4 aspects that may have been expected to limit it: more declines in the cost of solar photovoltaics (enabling more capability to be set up for the same price); strength of the US currency (decreasing the dollar value of non-dollar financial investment); continued weak point of the European economy, previously the powerhouse of renewable resource financial investment; and possibly, most significantly, the plunge in fossil fuel commodity prices.