Dubai’s share in talent, technology-driven foreign direct investment surges

Dubai: The Dubai FDI Results and Rankings Report 2018 has added a new index that monitors the contribution of foreign direct investment to job creation that explains the correlation between FDI and job growth.

As per the index, about 25,000 new jobs were created in 2018, an increase of 77 per cent compared to 14,065 jobs in 2017, effectively placing Dubai in ninth position globally in job creation through FDI.

“Recent policies which support the role of investors, innovators, skilled professionals and students in building an innovation and knowledge-based economy for Dubai and the UAE further adds to Dubai’s attractiveness for the world’s most promising talent destination,” said Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of DED.

Data showed medium and high-tech FDI projects being a major tool in job creation, accounting for 28 per cent of the jobs added in 2018. Medium and high-tech FDI projects comprise 43 per cent of the total FDI projects in 2018 and accounted for 15.6 per cent of total capital inflows.

Dubai has remained an attractive location in the world for greenfield FDI projects and has continued to promote the growth of FDI projects classified as New Forms of Investment (NFI). NFI accounted for 28.9 per cent of total investments in 2018, compared to 20.7 per cent in 2017.

“Data analysis provided by Dubai FDI Monitor reveals the trends that are shaping future growth, while clearly indicating Dubai’s success in attracting a large number of small and medium-sized investments with high levels of technology and innovation capacity,” said Fahad Al Gergawi, CEO of Dubai Investment Development Agency (Dubai FDI).

Data on FDI trends in Dubai showed that the number of FDI projects rose to 523 in 2018, a 43 per cent increase compared to 367 projects in 2017. The report revealed that 63 per cent were new projects and 28.9 per cent were NFI, 5 per cent were re-investment projects, two per cent were joint projects and one per cent mergers and acquisitions. Strategic investment projects comprised 94 per cent of total FDI inflows to Dubai in 2018, with 55 per cent of the projects introduced in 2018.

Top countries and sectors

In terms of FDI source markets, the Dubai FDI Results and Rankings Report 2018, showed that the United States retained its leading position in FDI capital flows to Dubai with a 37 per cent share while India came second with 12 per cent, followed by Spain (9 per cent), China (7 per cent) and the UK (5 per cent). Together, all the five countries accounted for 70 per cent of total FDI capital inflows and 51 per cent of FDI projects into Dubai in 2018.

In terms of top attractive sectors, FDI flows were largely concentrated in the accommodation and food services sectors with 46 per cent of total FDI capital, commercial construction (15 per cent), residential buildings construction (8 per cent), arts, entertainment and recreation (5 per cent), and finance and insurance (4 per cent).

Top five sectors accounted for 78 per cent of all FDI capital and 27 per cent of FDI projects into Dubai in 2018. In terms of distribution of FDI projects, the retail and wholesale sector ranked first at 25 per cent, while accommodation and food services stood second at 17 per cent followed by administration & support services (8 per cent), and software publishers, finance and insurance (6 per cent). The top five sectors account for 62 per ent of all FDI projects and 54 per cent of FDI capital into Dubai.