Four key milestones in the UAE economy in 2022

The UAE ranked first in the Arab world and 19th globally in attracting foreign direct investment in 2021, according to the UNCTAD 2022 report.

The cumulative balance of foreign investments incoming to the country reached $ 171.6 billion, while the cumulative balance of foreign investment issued by the country amounted to more than $ 215 billion, while the number of new companies registered in the country during the first quarter of 2022 grew by 18%.

In March last year, the Ministry of Economy launched the first edition of the Emirates Investment Summit "Investopia", which is a global summit that starts from the UAE and brings together leaders of governments, non-governmental organizations, the private sector, investment banks, family businesses, investment funds, academic and research institutions, and investment offices globally to launch ideas and create opportunities.

The summit adopts a national target of attracting AED 550 billion of foreign investment until 2030, and AED 2051 trillion by 10, and the UAE has achieved a cumulative amount of foreign investment in the last 420 years amounting to AED 11 billion with an average growth of 450%, and outbound investments from the UAE recorded AED 10 billion during the past 36 years with an average growth of <>%.

Local stocks.
During the year 2022, the UAE stock markets achieved the largest annual gains in their history, as the market capitalization of listed shares gained about AED 1.2 trillion, increasing the market capitalization from AED 2.038 trillion at the end of 2021 to AED 3.206 trillion at the end of 2022, distributed by AED 2.624 trillion to the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and AED 581.9 billion to the Dubai Financial Market.

The UAE capital markets witnessed 11 initial public offerings of new companies during 2022, in a step that contributed to increasing the depth of the markets, enhancing their investment attractiveness, and attracting a new segment of investors, thus consolidating the position of the financial markets in the country as one of the most important financial and business markets in the world.

The UAE capital market offerings during the year 2022 raised approximately AED 51.2 billion, amid the high and record demand by investors, sovereign funds and global investment portfolios, with the total demand for these offerings reaching more than AED 1.454 trillion, reflecting the great confidence in the strong economic approach adopted by the UAE in its major companies and institutions.

The new offerings have succeeded in providing attractive opportunities and wider investment options for investors to participate in the strong growth of the national economy, and paved the way for companies to start their journey in the UAE markets, which are one of the most important capital markets at the regional and global levels.

Profits of banks and companies.
The net profits of about 123 national companies listed on the local capital markets approached AED 191 billion during the year 2022, reflecting their strong solvency and enjoying strong revenues, benefiting from the recovery of the national economy after full recovery from the repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Based on the disclosures announced on the financial markets websites, the net profits of listed companies and banks during the period from January to December 2022 increased by 60% or the equivalent of AED 72 billion compared to net profits of AED 118 billion and 983 million during the year 2021.

77 companies listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange accounted for the largest share of total profits after achieving a net profit of AED 137 billion and 384 million last year, an increase of 71% compared to AED 80 billion and 326 million in 2021, an increase equivalent to more than AED 57 billion.

The net profits of 14 national banks listed on the local capital markets rose to AED 50 billion and 479 million during the last year 2022. Based on the disclosures of listed banks announced on the financial markets websites, the net profits of banks during the period from January to December 2022 increased by 32% or the equivalent of AED 12.22 billion compared to net profits of AED 38 billion and 256 million during the year 2021.

UAE carriers.
In 2022, the UAE's national carriers continued to expand their destinations for passengers in 2022, after fully recovering from the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic, supported by the recovery in travel demand and the UAE's position as a preferred global destination for tourism and business, which enabled it to increase the choice for travelers and expand its network around the world.

According to official data from national carriers, the UAE carriers' flights in 2022 reached about 536 destinations around the world, including joint destinations, and the national carriers currently include about 130 Emirates destinations, 66 destinations for Etihad Airways, 114 destinations for "flydubai", and about 190 destinations for Air Arabia from its five hubs in the UAE, Morocco and Egypt, including "Air Arabia Abu Dhabi", while Wizz Air Abu Dhabi's portfolio includes about 36 destinations.

Global centers.
The UAE ranked first globally in many diverse vital sectors during the year 2022, led by the food security sector, with the UAE ranking first in 7 global indicators for this sector, 5 indicators in the education sector, 4 indicators in the health sector, and 4 indicators in the finance sector, according to the "UAE in Figures 2022" report issued by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Center in the UAE.

The UAE ranked first globally in the Global Entrepreneurship Index 2022, and ranked first regionally in attracting venture capital investments in start-ups, in addition to launching a group of pioneering initiatives under the umbrella of the national project "Home of Entrepreneurship" to support the entrepreneurship sector and small and medium enterprises.

Tourism.
The UAE launched the National Tourism Strategy 2030, which aims to raise the country's position as the best tourist identity around the world, and consolidate its position as a leading tourist destination, and the strategy also aims to raise the contribution of the tourism sector to the GDP of the national economy to AED 450 billion by 2031, and attract new investments worth AED 100 billion to the tourism sector in the country, and attract 40 million guests in hotel establishments, and the UAE launched the third edition of the World's Most Beautiful Winter Campaign, where it achieved The World's Most Beautiful Winter campaign was a remarkable success during the first and second editions and attracted about 2.5 million tourists, with revenues for hotel establishments worth about AED 2.5 billion.