The UAE is stepping up its efforts to attract investments in a number of important areas, such as industry, technology, financial services, and pharmaceuticals. At the Investopia conference in Abu Dhabi, the Minister of Investment, Mohamed Alsuwaidi, stressed the need to make things easier for businesses that want to set up shop in the Emirates.

As reported by MSN, according to Alsuwaidi, the financial services sector holds significant potential for growth. He stated, “We are still far behind where we would like to be in financial services,” highlighting opportunities in asset management, insurance, banking, and technology, including FinTech.

In addition to financial services, the UAE is prioritizing sectors such as pharmaceuticals, biosciences, drug discovery, medical devices, artificial intelligence, and data centers. Alsuwaidi pointed out the importance of enhancing the pharmaceuticals sector, noting it is “worth heavily pushing for,” especially in areas like drug discovery and medical devices. He also mentioned the UAE’s commitment to innovation through investments in genome sequencing and research and development centers aimed at advancing drug discovery.

The UAE aims to double its cumulative foreign direct investment (FDI) to Dh1.3 trillion ($354 billion) by 2031 as part of its economic diversification strategy. In 2023, the country attracted $30.68 billion in FDI inflows, reflecting a 35 percent annual growth, as reported by the UN Conference on Trade and Development in its 2024 World Investment Report. In comparison, FDI outflows from the UAE were $22.3 billion, down from $24.8 billion in 2022.

Notably, the UAE was identified in the UNCTAD report as the second-largest market globally for greenfield foreign direct investment in 2023, following the United States. Greenfield FDI refers to a company’s establishment of new operations in another country by constructing new facilities.

Alsuwadi remarked on the growing opportunities in the manufacturing sector, alongside technology, artificial intelligence, and renewable energy. He noted that advancements in robotics would present “a big opportunity” for the UAE, complementing efforts in other associated sectors.

While acknowledging the progress, Alsuwaidi mentioned that improvements are still needed in the companies law. He stated that there are “a couple of areas that need improvement,” indicating a commitment to reforming aspects of the legacy system to further attract investment.

Since 2020, when the UAE overhauled its commercial company ownership laws to remove the requirement for an Emirati shareholder for onshore companies, foreign investors have been able to access various sectors more easily. Alsuwaidi highlighted the importance of providing consistent and updated information to investors, stating, “We’re working with the Ministry of Economy and Finance and everyone involved to try and make sure we can put out the latest data so that people can actually get a pulse of what’s happening in our market.”