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UK investors to visit UAE, reinforce trade relations

UK investors to visit UAE, reinforce trade relations
Total Middle East international investment into the UK topped AED 15.1 billion in 2016 - (Photo Credit: Arabianeye-Reuters)

Dubai – Mubasher: A UK government-led delegation of Investors are scheduled to visit the UAE in April to hold investment talks and deals with Middle East investors and reinforce the investment and trade relationships between the two regions.

The delegation will take part in two events, the first will be in Abu Dhabi on 25 April and the second in Dubai on 26 April, according to a statement.

 “The Emirates have always been strong investors in the UK, and we have always welcomed that investment,” said Edward Lister, chairman of the UK government’s Homes and Communities Agency and the delegation leader.

Lister added that “In spite of Brexit, the underlying property dynamics in the UK remain unchanged and the demand for all types of property is absolutely enormous”, indicating that Brexit will not have a negative impact on the Middle East's investments in the UK.

Total Middle East international investment into the UK topped AED 15.1 billion in 2016, as trade between the UK and the GCC only soared 185% between 1999 and 2015, with the UAE ranking as the UK’s third largest export partner outside of Europe and the 11th largest trading partner for the UK overall.

“We already know that London residential property is a favourite asset class among the region’s wealthy,” Faisal Durrani, head of research at Cluttons, noted.

"London’s nickname as the “eighth emirate” is further substantiated by the tremendous volume of investment it attracts from the Middle East and the GCC states in particular," he added

The UK’s secretary of state for international trade Rt Hon Liam Fox previously highlighted the importance for the UK to continue to attract overseas business.

On the other hand, investors in the UAE UAE are also inviting global investments, as Nakheel's CEO Sanjay Manchanda says “If you compare Dubai prices with those in Hong Kong and Singapore, New York and London, they are very competitive and much lower.”

“As well as Qatar’s multi-billion-dirham investment into the UK, Kamco of Kuwait and Rasmala of Dubai recently completed an AED 248 million deal to acquire an Amazon distribution warehouse near Edinburgh that is responsible for 3 of 8 Amazon parcel deliveries in the UK. And Abu Dhabi Investments acquired a AED 1.4 billion share of a shopping mall in Liverpool recently," the Cluttons' executive noted.

"The UK will always be perceived as a safe harbour for investments, the dizzying speed at which cities in the Gulf have arisen are attracting the attention of the global investment community, particularly when you have mega projects like the $32 billion Al Maktoum International Airport in the making, along with ground breaking new transportation infrastructure like 3-D printed skyscrapers and Hyperloop waiting in the wings to provide the next generation of economic growth,” Cluttons' Durrani added.

Lister, Durrani, and Manchanda will be speaking at the Middle East Real Estate Forum organised by global real estate publication EG, which is working in partnership with the UK DiT and international real estate adviser Cluttons.