The Saudi presence, in all its aspects, has been a crucial and distinctive pillar in the development of the UAE economy, through direct and indirect support via various investments. UAE officials have confirmed that Saudis are the most active investors in Dubai’s real estate sector, A report by the Dubai Land Department showed that Saudis were the second-largest investors in Dubai’s real estate sector among Gulf nationals in 2015, with investments totaling 22.7 billion UAE dirhams.
Saudi Investments Boost the UAE
In terms of the number of visitors to the United Arab Emirates and its trading partners, the Kingdom ranked first among countries in the region, as Saudi investments became a key driver of the UAE’s economic recovery—specifically in Dubai—through its citizens’ injection of Saudi funds into the tourism, real estate, trade, and stock sectors. In this regard, Saudi and Emirati businessmen and private company executives emphasized that the UAE has become an ideal destination for investment and living, They noted that bilateral relations between the UAE and the Kingdom are strong, deep-rooted, and historic, thanks to the wise leadership of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, and his brother, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE.
1 billion dirhams in Dubai real estate
For his part, businessman Abdulaziz Al-Sajmani, a member of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, revealed that the volume of trade between the Kingdom and the UAE reached 7.96 billion dirhams, and that 3,259 Saudi investors injected approximately one billion dirhams into the real estate sector in the Emirate of Dubai, while the Dubai Land Department revealed that Saudi real estate investments over the past three years amounted to 2 billion dirhams in 2014 and rose to 4.6 billion dirhams, and in the first six months of this year, it reached 3.37 billion dirhams, with the value recorded in the first six months representing more than half of Gulf investment in Dubai’s real estate sector. In the same context, Emirati real estate expert and investor Khalifa bin Harib attributed the boom in trade volume between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, as well as the opening up and growth of the real estate market between the two countries, to the enactment of laws aimed at encouraging investment and trade between the two nations, as the United Arab Emirates has enacted laws that have opened up more freehold areas for Emiratis, which has significantly contributed to the diversification of the real estate product offering.
2,366 Saudi companies in the UAE market
The unique nature of the relationship between the two countries has played a key role in the success of the policy of openness between them. According to a report issued by the Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman), Saudi investments in the UAE are estimated at $4.3 billion, and there are currently about 2,366 Saudi companies registered with the Ministry of Economy and 66 commercial agencies operating in the UAE, The number of Saudi projects in the UAE stands at 206, while the number of joint Emirati projects in Saudi Arabia totals 114 industrial and service projects, with a capital of 15 billion riyals. Meanwhile, the volume of trade exchange between the two countries reached 21 billion dirhams.
The UAE tops the list of Gulf countries exporting to Saudi Arabia and is also among the leading Gulf countries receiving Saudi exports, and ranks high among the top ten countries from which Saudi Arabia imports. Joint investments between the UAE and Saudi Arabia play a vital role in this regard.
33 billion riyals in imports from the UAE to the Kingdom
In turn, the Kingdom has adopted legislation to encourage real estate investment, issuing a decree that grants members of the Gulf Cooperation Council and foreigners the right to own and utilize real estate, With this step, the Kingdom’s economy seeks to attract more Arab and foreign investments to Saudi Arabia, and this decision contributes positively to the construction sector, particularly between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, Saudi imports from the UAE reached 33 billion Saudi riyals in 2015, compared to approximately 30 billion riyals in 2014, while total Saudi exports to the UAE amounted to 16.5 billion riyals, compared to 15 billion riyals in 2014. In this regard, Hussein Al-Mahmoudi, Director General of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, noted that Sharjah’s exports to the Kingdom accounted for 12.7% of Sharjah’s total non-oil exports, valued at 445 million and 669 thousand dirhams.
