Business & Money | Sunday 31 May, 2015 4:06 pm |

Under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait, and with the participation of GCC ministers of industry, the Ministry of Commerce and Industry in the State of Kuwait, the Public Authority for Industry (PAI) and the Gulf Organization for Industrial Consulting (GOIC) organise the 15th Industrialists’ Conference “Foreign Direct Investments in GCC and its impact on industry”.

The conference will be held on the 25th and 26th of November, 2015 in collaboration with Kuwait Direct Investment Promotion Authority (KDIPA) and Kuwait Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and in coordination with the Secretariat-General of the Gulf Cooperation Council and the Federation of GCC Chambers (FGCCC).

Mr. Mohammad Fahad Al-Ajmi, PAI Acting Director-General, explained that the conference aims at putting together clear policies to stimulate development plans in GCC countries based on a comprehensive set of elements drawing foreign investors. It also seeks to create an ambitious strategy to develop and promote the industrial sector in order to attract more foreign investments. Furthermore, it aims at enacting legislations and laws and offering facilitations and incentives to foreign investors in order to create a promising investment environment. Mr. Al-Ajmi added: “One of the objectives of this conference is to strengthen the level of competitiveness of GCC countries by attracting foreign investments to promote Gulf economies.”

“Participants will endeavour to put together a number of recommendations and suggestions to improve the investment environment and overcome obstacles hindering foreign investments and directing foreign investments in accordance with GCC strategic plans to achieve their development goals and maximise the benefit from these investments. In addition to that, they will work on determining key pillars of GCC investment plans in the industrial sector”, said Mr. Al-Ajmi.
Furthermore, GOIC Secretary General Mr. Abdulaziz Bin Hamad Al-Ageel said the conference is divided into a number of themes. The first theme tackles the current status, development and incentives of foreign investments in GCC countries. It aims at examining the main features of foreign investments in terms of size, contribution to GDPs and competitiveness. Its goal is also to carry out a technical assessment of current investments in GCC industries in terms of their relative importance compared to overall investments and their technological contributions to GCC industries. This theme also analyses the distribution of foreign investments and their size in terms of economic activities, including industrial activities, and determines their trends, returns and impacts on investors and targeted countries.

Al-Ageel added that the second theme discusses the role of foreign investments and their impact on GCC economies. It examines case studies from countries similar to GCC countries that were capable of promoting their industries to reach advanced levels based on technology, advanced administration, research and development and foreign direct investments in their national industries.

GOIC Secretary General explained that the third theme is about the role of the private sector and SMEs in drawing foreign direct investments. In fact, statistically, private sector investments are way less abundant than consumer or government spending. However, they play the biggest role in determining economic growth and they are considered key to establish SMEs that are the most important pillar of any industrial base in modern countries. Al-Ageel added that this theme studies the capacity of the private sector and SMEs to create new opportunities to attract foreign direct investments and work on developing good governance in doing business and investing in sustainable development.

As to the fourth theme, Al-Ageel said it discusses preparing and improving GCC’s investment environment. This theme studies legislations, fiscal and monetary policies, institutions, financing, free zones, industrial cities, specialised industrial areas, investment infrastructure, procedures and ease of doing business. Al-Ageel stressed that preparing and improving infrastructure is one of the key factors to draw foreign investments. Foreign companies and investors make their investment decisions based on available legislations protecting investors and minimising risks. This is indeed what an environment that is suitable for foreign investors looks like. It is the combination of legal, economic, political and social circumstances forming the investment environment upon which investment decisions are based.

Al-Ageel concluded by saying that the fifth theme tackles foreign investments in the industrial sector and their role in developing knowledge and transferring technology by studying the most important industrial activities with high comparative advantages requiring technology and researches.

The Gulf Industrialists’ Conference hosted by GOIC member states in rotation every other year is one of GOIC’s most important achievements since its foundation in 1976. Since the first conference held in Doha in 1985, they have been contributing in developing private and public industrial sectors in GCC countries. Each conference tackles a specific topic influencing the development of industries in the region through a series of papers delivered by international experts and specialists. In fact, previous conferences resulted in recommendations that helped in developing industrial plans in GCC countries, notably in the area of the industrial development strategy.

Decision makers, officials, businessmen and industrialists are all interested in this conference. In its 14th version “Industrial Exports: Opportunities and Challenges”, the recommendations were to actively work on adopting policies and procedures aiming at facilitating the flow of Gulf exports to strengthen trade activities between Gulf countries and to benefit from GCC and Yemen seaports in addition to the existing land border points in support of Gulf industrial exports.