CHAIRMAN’S MESSAGE
factors attracting global investors into the region. Today, every entrepreneur, millionaire and established brand want to be part of GCC success story by investing in infrastructure, tourism, hospitality, information technology and renewable energy. The recent CBRE report shows that the total value of real estate projects planned or underway across the GCC currently stands at $1.36 trillion, of which Saudi Arabia has the lion’s share of 64.5% equating to around $877 billion projects followed by UAE with 21.6% share of the total regional projects. Technology and innovation is another key growth catalyst for the region’s economies. GCCs investing in talent development and helping leaders think about the business end-to-end are finding it easier to create an impact. There is no second opinion that tech giants play a significant role as they provide the economies of scale and scope necessary for innovation, talent attraction, job creation, large-scale investment, and exports. The digital economy could increase its contribution to regional GDP potentially by $30 billion over the next five years, from $169 billion to $204 billion. Latest report by Strategy& Middle East showed that GCC states can add $255 billion to the regional GDP by 2030 with Saudi Arabia contributing $119 billion alone. Saudi Arabia has attracted more than $9 billion in investments in future technologies, including by US giants Microsoft and Oracle Corporation, which are building cloud regions in the kingdom. The investments will enhance the kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s position as the largest digital market in the Middle East and North Africa. Last, but not the least, GCC policymakers have taken up the issue of climate change on a serious note and are focused on finding the optimal solution for it. As a starting point commitment to Net Zero were announced by the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain to be achieved by 2050, 2060, and 2060, respectively. The UAE and Saudi Arabia, the region’s two largest economies, continued to lead climate-related efforts in the GCC region as both nations have established public-private partnership frameworks, making project finance an obvious choice for funding deployment. The recently concluded COP28 has provided a great opportunity to push towards green technology and carbon sequestration investments, which is crucial for the world to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. The landmark historic event provides an opportunity to move to an economic path of green growth which could ultimately diversify the economy while making a positive impact on the climate. In conclusion, I must iterate that the GCC economic growth will accelerate in coming years as an increase in hydrocarbon production and a strong rebound in tourism activity will support net exports, which will be the main catalyst for the region’s success. High energy prices and efforts to diversify sources of economic activity will boost investment across the bloc and will be the key growth engine in the region. I must iterate that GCC has a diversified economy that creates hundreds of attractive business opportunities in the industrial, agricultural, commercial, and tourism sectors, in addition to the green economy and the knowledge economy, which tens of billions of dollars have been earmarked for their development. “
HASSAN MOEJEB ALHWAIZY Chairman of the Federation of GCC Chambers and Chairman of the Federation of Saudi Chambers
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Countries are on track to diversify their oil-based economies by attracting investment into key sectors such as real estate, hospitality, information technology, healthcare, education, telecoms, data infrastructure, renewable energy, and startups, among others. The six-member bloc are expected to see double the global level of economic growth in 2023 – with Saudi Arabia and the UAE leading the way, as the World Bank projected that global economies to grow by 1.7% while Gulf countries are forecast to surge 3.7%. In 2022, Gulf economies achieved a growth of about 6%, as Saudi Arabia witnessed the largest growth at 8.9%, highlighting that there was a high stimulus in the economy and financing to support small and medium enterprises to boost the economy after the Covid-19 pandemic. The strong gross domestic product (GDP) growth numbers clearly indicates that the GCC region in general performed very well after the global crisis. The outlook for the GCC region appears more upbeat in comparison to the rest of the world, supported by relatively high oil prices and growth in the non-oil economy, as well as moderating inflation. I must iterate that GCC has a diversified economy that creates hundreds of attractive business opportunities in the industrial, agricultural, commercial, and tourism sectors, in addition to the green economy and the knowledge economy, which tens of billions of dollars have been earmarked for their development. All the GCC Countries have embarked on economic transformation plans to diversify income sources away from hydrocarbons, with varying degrees of success. They have very advanced global positions in human development indicators, visa reforms, business facilitation and attracting investments into non-oil businesses. Over the past couple of decades, the GCC has attracted increasing interest from around the world as an investment destination due to conscious efforts by the GCC nations to encourage foreign direct investment with future-focused strategic vision focusing on rapid infrastructure development and economic growth. These strategic future plans such as UAE Vision 2021, Kuwait Vision 2035, Abu Dhabi Economic Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 and most recently, the $8.7 trillion Dubai Economic Agenda (D33), will build up the momentum for sustainable GDP growth in years to come. I would like to highlight another aspect of investment into the green economy that has potential to accelerate the GDP growth to above $13 trillion by 2050. The recent World Bank report showed that the combined GDP of the GCC countries will be $6 trillion if they continue to operate as usual without properly implementing a green growth strategy. Last year, the combined GCC economy was valued at $2 trillion. With these promising numbers, I would like to mention some of the growth
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Federation of GCC Chambers
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