Mohammed opens Annual Investment meet

The Annual Investment Meeting (AIM 2014) was inaugurated today (Tuesday) by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

The event was attended by representatives of official delegations from more than 110 countries.The strong response on the first day of AIM was a barometer of the robustness of the UAE economy and its global position as a hotspot for investments across the investor spectrum.

Day one of AIM focused on the latest trends in foreign direct investment (FDI) and its growth prospects in emerging markets and the importance of attracting foreign investment driven by a progressive mix of legislation and flexibility in emerging markets.

AIM 2014 presented a platform for decision makers, officials, investors, entrepreneurs, experts, analysts and academics who gathered under one roof to discuss FDI challenges, potential and growth.

Participants in AIM 2014 had the opportunity on day one to hold meetings, make contacts and share expertise with peers from all over the world. A variety of sessions were held on the first day. AIM has gained great significance since its inception three years ago, with participants from China, Russia, Indonesia, Morocco and other countries actively participating in the event.

AIM 2014 kicked off with a welcome speech by Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, UAE Minister of Economy, who said, "The UAE, at the highest levels, gives great importance to this meeting, which is being held for the fourth consecutive year under the patronage Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid. AIM will focus in this edition on the investment partnerships in order to achieve sustainable growth in emerging markets. We realize that through these collaborative efforts, we can build a better world."

He pointed out that  "We are delighted on the large turn out to this event that attracted 110 official delegations along with many dignitaries from around the world representing variety of sectors."

"According to many economic analysts, the global economic growth will reach 3.7 per cent during this year and will increase to 3.9 per cent in 2015,"Al Mansouri added.

The welcome address was followed by the launch of AIM Annual FDI Report that was presented by Angus Cushley, Publishing Director of  FDI Intelligence at Financial Times Ltd.

The annual flagship publication of the Annual Investment Meeting highlighted the general theme of AIM and revealed the latest trends in FDI and FDI flows globally and regionally in particular in frontier and emerging markets.

Special focus was placed on the competitiveness of fast growth markets and key opportunities and challenges they have to face in a fast-moving and unpredictable world.

In the day, a ministerial roundtable featured ministers in charge of investment, foreign trade, foreign affairs, economy, finance and development, business leaders and heads of international institutions.

The focus of the session was on the overall theme of sharing views and lessons learnt as well as personal assessments on how to invest in growth and to find sustainable solutions to further the cause of development in times of political and economic uncertainties.

Karl Sauvant, Resident Senior Fellow at the Vale Columbia Center on Sustainable International Investment (VCC), former Director Investment and Enterprise Development Division, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) moderated the roundtable, in which the panelists included Eng. Sultan Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy, UAE, Yegor Borisov, President of Sakha Republic, Russian Federation, Mustafa Osman Ismail, Ministry of Investment, Sudan, Arancha Gonz?lez, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC), Geneva, Switzerland, Khaled Al-Aboodi, CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), Professor Louis T. Wells and Herbert F. Johnson, Professor of International Management at the Harvard Business School.

A presentation on inventing the future was delivered by Bertrand Piccard, Initiator, Chairman and Pilot of Solar Impulse.

A plenary session on ‘The Evolving international regulatory framework for FDI, new Developments and Implications for Frontier and Emerging Markets’ discussed national and international regulatory frameworks for FDI for laying the parameters for the operations of multinational enterprises. State-level regulatory frameworks are restricting FDI and the need of the hour is more open approach.

Dawood Al Shezawi, CEO, AIM’s Organising Committee said,"This session examined new regulatory developments in inward and outward FDI regimes and international investment agreements (e.g., bilateral investment treaties), as well as a possible multilateral framework for investment, and implications of these developments for emerging markets."

The session was again moderated by  Karl Sauvant, and the key note speakers included Arancha Gonz?lez, Executive Director of the International Trade Centre (ITC), Geneva, Switzerland while the panelists featured Ana Teresa T. Lehmann, Associate Professor of Economics, CEF.UP, FEP, University of Porto, Portugal, Khaled Al-Aboodi, CEO of the Islamic Corporation for the Development of the Private Sector (ICD), Sangkyom Kim, Deputy Director, Directorate of Financial and Enterprise Affairs, OECD, Paris, France, Mahendra Siregar, Chairman of Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM), Jakarta, Indonesia and Fahad Al Gergawi, CEO of Dubai FDI, UAE.

This session was followed by another on "Going for Gold in Frontier and emerging markets as investment destinations".

It examined in different regions and sectors and evaluated risks. Moderated by Andreas Dressler, Managing Director Terrain, Germany, the Keynote speaker was Hamadoun Tour?, Secretary General of International Telecommunication Union (ITU), while panelists included Majid Jafar, CEO Crescent Petroleum, James Zhan, Director, Division on Investment and Enterprise, Geneva, UNCTAD, Pius Muchiri, CEO Centum Asset Managers Limited (part of Centum Group), Nairobi, Kenya, Pumla Ncapayi, Deputy Director General of Department. Trade and Industry (DTI), Pretoria, South Africa, Frederick Lehmann, Chairman and CEO of Lehmann & Co., Portugal, Ghassan Y. Al-Baba, Executive Director of the Islamic Development Bank Group Business Forum (THIQAH).

The final plenary session of the day shed light on investment partnerships and new forms of FDI, strategic alliances and greenfield investments.

Some of the issues in this session included benefits of Green Field Investment in new facilities or the expansion of existing facilities. Greenfield investments are the primary target of a host nation’s promotional efforts because they create new production capacity and jobs, transfer technology and know-how, and can lead to linkages to the global marketplace. However, it often does this by crowding out local industry. Mergers & Acquisitions occur when a transfer of existing assets from local firms to foreign firms takes place.

The session was moderated by Ruth McKee, Dubai Bureau Chief, MergerMarket, UAE in which the keynote speaker was Mukhisa Kituyi, Secretary General of UNCTAD and panelists were Ana Teresa T. Lehmann, Associate Professor of Economics at the School of Economics, University of Porto, researcher at CEF.UP, University of Porto, and Head of International Business at EGP-U.Porto Business School, Portugal, Alexandre David de Sousa Costa, Secretary of State of the Ministry of Commerce of Angola, Hassan Sohbi, Partner, TaylorWessing, Frankfurt, Germany and Yousuf Bastaki, Senior Vice President – Major Project, Emirates Global Aluminium.

Mohammed bin Rashid meets participant delegations in AIM

 His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, met today  (Tuesday) at Al Multaqa Hall, Dubai World Trade Centre, with the heads of participant delegations at the 4th Annual Investment Meeting (AIM).

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai, and Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai, attended the meeting.

Sheikh Mohammed welcomed Muhyiddin Yassin, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education of Malaysia, Behgjet Pacolli, First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo, Prince Mohamed Bolkiah, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Brunei Darussalam, Egor Borisov, President of the Republic of Sakha, (Yakutia), one of the republics of the Russian Federation, Abdul Aziz al-Rabah, Moroccan Minister of Equipment and Transport.

He wished them good luck in their forum, which gathers a large elite of economic officials, experts and investors worldwide, especially the Third World.

Sheikh Mohammed exchanged views with ministers stressing that " We put the UAE experience in the service of fraternal and friendly countries out of our keenness on encouraging economic development in these countries in order to achieve welfare and stability for their peoples."

The ministers agreed that the UAE has become a role model that others can benefit from to manage and develop their developmental programmes in their countries, hailing the UAE's successful experience in achieving the highest economic growth rate in the past four years.

During the meeting, ministers and government officials also pointed out the story of Dubai's success, which impressed the world by its achievements and excellence in various projects as well as its comprehensive cultural boom.

Among those who attended the meeting were Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of Dubai Civil Aviation Authority and Chairman of Emirates Group, and Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, Minister of Economy.

Mohammed attends 3rd day of Al Marmoum Camel Racing Festival

 His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has attended the evening events of the 3rd day of Al Marmoum’s Camel Racing Festival. The evening hosted Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup.

The race was also attended by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum. Crown Prince of Dubai, Chairman of Dubai Executive Council and Chairman of Dubai Sports Council, Sheikh Maktoum bin Hamdan bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sheikh Almur bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum and Sheikh Saeed bin Maktoum bin Juma Al Maktoum.

The evening’s 18 races witnessed interesting competition between participants on the 5 KM racetrack to conclude with the prestigious Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup.

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