The UAE will provide industrial companies with more than Dh40 billion ($10.89 billion) in financing over the next five years to boost growth and expand the country’s industrial base, Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, said on Monday.
“Investing in manufacturing is an investment in an advanced economy,” Dr Al Jaber told delegates at the Make it in the Emirates event in Abu Dhabi.
Emirates Development Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Mashreq, Emirates NBD, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank and Wio Bank are among the lenders that will provide competitive financing to industrial sector companies.
The UAE is also launching Emirates Growth Fund, a Dh1 billion investment platform, under the Emirates Development Bank, to support small and medium enterprises in strategic sectors.
The Arab world’s second-largest economy also aims to increase the value of procurement opportunities in the industrial sector to Dh168 billion over the next 10 years, as well as localizing the manufacturing of more than 4,800 products, he added.
The UAE has been focusing on industrial growth as it diversifies its economy away from oil. The Emirates launched its industrial strategy, Operation 300bn, in 2021, to position itself as an industrial Centre by 2031.
As part of widening its industrial base, the UAE has also formed an industrial partnership for sustainable economic development with Jordan, Bahrain, Egypt, Morocco, Qatar and Turkey. “We have advanced regional supply chain integration through joint projects worth $5 billion in key sectors,” Dr Al Jaber said.
The measures under the industrial strategy have already yielded results and the country’s industrial sector has witnessed significant growth in recent years. “Industrial exports in 2024 reached Dh197 billion – a 68 per cent increase compared to 2021 [levels],” he added.
The manufacturing sector last year remained the largest non-oil contributor to Abu Dhabi’s gross domestic product at 9.5 per cent, with its added value hitting Dh111.6 billion – the highest on record, the emirate’s Department of Economic Development reported in March.
The sector posted an annual growth rate of 2.7 per cent in 2024.
Source: Thenationalnews
