Sheikh Hamdan: Dubai a global destination for technology investments
By Adelle Geronimo / Tahawul Tech
SOURCE: Tahawul Tech - Sheikh Hamdan: Dubai a global destination for technology investments
Dubai Crown Prince and Chairman of the Executive Council Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum recently highlighted that the vision of Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has made emirate an attractive destination for investments in technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics, and positioned it at the forefront of cities strengthening the foundations of their future and economic prospects.
Sheikh Hamdan made his remarks during the launch of the ‘Dubai FDI Monitor’ annual report on FDI trends and inflows issued by the Dubai Investment Development Agency (Dubai FDI), an agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED).
Dubai ranked first globally in the share of FDI in technology transfer in AI and robotics and third among the top 25 destinations in the same category after Singapore and Shanghai, according to the Financial Times’ ‘FDI Benchmark,’ a leading platform for benchmarking the world’s key FDI destinations.
The latest data shows that Dubai has the highest FDI focus on the technology component across business sectors.
According to the ‘Dubai FDI Monitor’ report for 2017, investment in research and development (R&D) accounted for about 3.5 percent of total FDI projects, whereas medium and high-tech projects constituted more than 60 percent of the total.
These projects, according to the report, accounted for 22 percent of total capital inflows, according to the classification adopted globally by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
The ‘Dubai FDI Monitor’ report noted that, advanced services and facilities offered to investors and entrepreneurs in Dubai and the emirate’s adoption of transformational technologies like blockchain and AI to raise the competitiveness and efficiency of its manufacturing and services sectors have had a significant impact on FDI inflows.