The UAE has more than double the number of companies it had at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic and saw foreign investments reach AED112bn ($30.5bn) last year, according to a Cabinet report.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, chaired the UAE Cabinet’s meeting at Qasr Al Watan, Abu Dhabi, in Monday, September 2.
The UAE Cabinet also reviewed non-oil trade and major financial statistics for the previous year.
UAE Cabinet meeting
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum said: “During the Cabinet meeting today, we reviewed the significant outcomes of our economic and investment development project. The economic decisions taken by the government during and after the Covid -19 pandemic have resulted in substantial and tangible achievements.
“At the end of the first half of 2020, the UAE had 405,000 companies, based on the valid business licences statistics. Over the past four years, this number has grown to 1.021 million registered companies as of mid-2024, scoring a growth of 152 per cent, according to the statistics of the UAE’s National Economic Register.
“The UAE has achieved accelerated growth, ranking fifth globally in real GDP growth and among the top 10 economies in various global competitiveness indices.
“The country attracted a record AED112bn ($30.5bn) in foreign direct investment last year and secured the second position globally, after the United States, in the number of new foreign direct investment projects, which reached 1,323, a 33 per cent increase compared to the previous year.
“Since the onset of Covid -19, the government has enacted 30 economic decisions, laws, and policies that have significantly accelerated our economic growth.
“I assure everyone that the government will continue on this path, and our economic future will be stronger and better, God willing.”
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum added: “The Cabinet also approved the consolidated government financial statistics for 2023, with government revenues amounting to AED546bn ($149bn) and expenditures to AED402bn ($109bn).
“The most significant government expenditures were in public security and safety, health, education, economic matters, social protection, housing and community amenities.
“Our government’s resources are growing, and we will continue to use them in ways that serve our people, our facilities, our economy, and the future of our journey. We pray to God to protect the nation and its people and to grant us success in our future endeavours and projects.”
During its session, the UAE Cabinet reviewed the results of implementing the Ministry of Economy’s plans to develop the economic and investment legislative structure in the country’s markets, which have been approved by the leadership as part of the UAE’s largest project to develop the federal legislation and laws at all development sectors.
This unprecedented initiative aims to anticipate and shape the future of the national economy and to keep pace with global economic changes and rapid technological advancements.
Over the past four years, more than 30 economic laws, policies, and decisions have been updated, contributing significantly to the UAE’s transition towards a knowledge and innovation-driven economic model, enhancing its competitiveness on a regional and global scale.
The Cabinet discussed the substantial economic growth resulting from these efforts, with the non-oil GDP of the UAE growing by 6.2 per cent in 2023, placing the UAE fifth globally in real GDP growth, and among the top 10 economies in the world in a set of global competitiveness indices linked to GDP.
New and updated economic legislation and policies also contributed to adding more than 616,000 new companies to the country’s markets in the period from September 2020 to mid- 2024, and the country’s attracting incoming foreign direct investment (FDI) projects during 2023 amounting to more than AED112bn ($30.5bn), with a growth rate of about 35 per cent compared to 2022.
The UAE scored more than 136,000 trademarks during the period from 2019 to mid-2024. The legislative updates contributed as well to further making the UAE a competitive business ecosystem for Modern Technology-Based Trade, demonstrated in more than 24,000 companies specialising in e-commerce operating in the country.
The Cabinet also reviewed updates on the National Agenda for UAE Non-Oil Exports Development in 2023, which saw record figures.
The UAE’s foreign trade of non-oil goods value exceeded AED2.614tn ($712bn), with a growth rate of 14.3 per cent compared to 2022, and 37 per cent and 53 per cent compared to 2021 and 2019, respectively.
The value of the UAE’s non-oil commodity exports also reached an unprecedented value of AED440bn ($120bn), with a growth rate of 16.3 per cent compared to 2022, and an increase of 28 per cent, 66 per cent and 84 per cent compared to those of 2021, 2020 and 2019, respectively.
Additionally, the UAE has concluded 15 comprehensive economic partnership agreements on 4 continents, ensuring exceptional opportunities for the business community.
Four agreements have entered into force, with the economic partnership efforts expected to increase UAE exports by 33 per cent and contribute more than AED153bn ($42bn) to the country’s GDP by 2031, representing a growth of around 10 per cent compared to 2022.
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