The UAE attracts 200 thousand new economic licenses in 2024

The UAE has established its position as one of the most preferred investment destinations around the world, and has succeeded in attracting direct foreign investments that strengthened its cumulative balance.

In 2024, the UAE recorded the entry of 200,000 new economic licenses operating in various economic activities, in light of the presence of more than 1.1 million companies and economic institutions operating in the UAE market.

According to the data of the Ministry of Investment, the total new and announced flows of foreign investment capital in 2023 reached 16 billion dollars, which reflects the UAE’s position as a preferred destination for international investors.

The UAE continues to attract large foundational investments from different countries, which reflects the environment of dynamic business and strategic economic initiatives that provide job opportunities, stimulate innovation and support sustainable growth. The vital investment scene in the UAE is a major driver to advance economic growth and attract capital flows to it, which enhances the state’s position as a leading global investment center.

The Minister of Economy, Abdullah bin Touq Al -Marri, said in a statement to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), that “the UAE is keen to provide a competitive legislative climate for the fields and activities of the new economy, as the country has worked over the past six years to develop and issue more than 9 important economic legislation, which supports expansion of business and projects in the new economy sectors in the state markets.”

Bin Touq pointed out that «the UAE has issued over the past four years more than 30 legislation, decision and economic policy, including new laws for family and trade companies through modern technology, cooperatives, consumer protection, commercial transactions, brands, copyright and neighboring rights.

The main sectors that led the growth of constituent investments in the UAE include business services, software and information technology services that provided many job opportunities, and attracted huge capital.

Sectors such as financial services, industrial equipment, transportation, and storage played an important role in the growth of constituent investments, which led to the increase in the total jobs that were provided by 7.5%, in addition to the increase in the number of projects announced by 31%, and also increased by 37%, in the total foreign directly stated foreign investment flows.

The emerging sectors, such as renewable energy, electric vehicles and cloud computing, have made important contributions to the economic growth of the UAE and the provision of great investment opportunities.

The economic diversity and the stimulating economic environment for sustainable growth enabled the UAE to maintain its position at the forefront of the most attractive countries for investment in Arab and regionally, and achieving comprehensive development around the world, which is shown by the standard growth in the foreign direct investment flows of the UAE, which increased by 35%, and reached 112.6 billion dirhams in 2023, according to the foreign directly foreign investment report for the year 2024, Issued by “UNCTAD”.

The UAE ranked second in the world in a number of new foreign direct investment projects during the year 2023, with it registered 1323 new projects with a growth of about 33%, compared to the previous year, in light of its aspiration to attract more investments and improve its investment environment, provide greater incentives for investors, and raise its position on international indicators related to the attractiveness of the business and investment environments.

The global economic and investment activities hosted by the UAE are an important platform for drawing the future of global investment, especially “Intestopia 2025”, which confirms the UAE’s position as a global partner, and an attractive and influential economic center in the sectors of the new economy.