By: Amr Adel
Dubai – Mubasher: The UAE attracted foreign direct investments (FDIs) worth around $10 billion (AED 36.729 billion) in 2016, according to Abdullah Bin Al Saleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Economy for Foreign Trade and Industry.
The UAE is the most attractive destination for FDI in the Arab region, Al Saleh added on Tuesday on the sidelines of the UAE Economic Outlook 2017 in Dubai.
The UAE attracted a total of $119 billion (AED 437.075 billion) worth of accumulated FDIs by the end of 2016, he said, adding that the legislations the government is working on for 2017 will raise FDIs further.
Outflows from the UAE amounted to $9.3 billion (AED 34.157 billion) by the end of 2015, compared to $9 billion (AED 33.056 billion) a year earlier.
The UAE economy grew 3.8% in 2015 and sustained the same pace of growth in 2016, despite challenges which had a negative effect on some other economies.
“The GDP contribution of oil has declined to about 30%, improving flexibility and resilience of the national economy,” Al Saleh added.
The initiatives launched in the UAE over the past have prepared the country to enter the post-oil phase, he said.
Translated by: Julian Nabil
