October 07, 2008

UAE pumps AED 29 billion into manufacturing

Emirates news agency WAM reported that UAE has pumped nearly AED 29 billion into manufacturing projects over the past 4 years and most of the investments have been made by Abu Dhabi. Food, beverages and tobacco had the lion’s share of the investments, while chemicals, metals and minerals remained a key target of the country’s drive to expand its industrial base and lessen reliance on volatile oil sales.

Official figures showed the new investments covered more than 1,000 projects and national investors controlled nearly 85% of the cumulative industrial capital of around AED 72 billion at the end of 2007. From nearly AED 43.6 billion at the end of 2003, total investments in the UAE’s non oil industrial sector surged to AED 72.6 billion at the end of 2007, an increase of AED 29 billion.

Abu Dhabi accounted for the bulk of the investments, pumping a total of AED 38.9 billion by the end of 2007. Investments in its industrial sector stood at around AED 15.6 billion in 2003 up by AED 23.3 billion in 4 years. Most of the increase in Abu Dhabi’s industrial capital was in 2004, when it leaped to AED 34.3 billion from AED 15.62 billion the previous year