UAE - Mubasher: The 2020 Kearney Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) Confidence Index, an annual survey ranking the markets likely to attract the most investment in the next three years, saw the UAE advance to 19th place out of 25 markets, compared to the 21st place in 2017.

The ranking shows the Emirati government strategies to diversify its economy, apply innovative methods in different sectors, and encourage business growth, according to a press release on Sunday.

The UAE government's policies set in 2019 to achieve these strategies, including the introduction of 100% foreign ownership in 13 economic sectors, and the country's boosting technology sector, make the UAE one of the world's most attractive FDI destinations.

However, the FDI Confidence Index remarked that the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, coupled with uncertainty in the nature and timeline of recovery, will lead to reducing the global foreign direct investment next year.

The 2020 index has selected only three emerging economies, namely China, Brazil, and the UAE, as the ranking reflected that the emerging and frontier economies will be greatly affected by COVID-19 due to limited fiscal options, significant debt, and the higher poverty levels.

Commenting on the ranking, the partner at the National Transformations Institute of Kearney Middle East, Rudolph Lohmeyer, said: "Investors clearly anticipate that these fundamentals combined with an extremely effective response to the crisis will enable the country to emerge strongly from the COVID-19 crisis."

"The UAE is also expected to benefit from the entry into force of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) through new trade opportunities with African countries, though COVID-19 has delayed the timeline for the agreement," Lohmeyer added.