The UAE's non-oil foreign trade hit a record Dh1.24 trillion ($337.6 billion) in the first half of 2023, up 14.4 per cent year on year, as the country's non-oil exports during the period exceeded the annual level recorded five years ago.

The country's non-oil exports with its top 10 most important trading partners rose by 22 per cent in the first six months of this year, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, said on Wednesday.

“Our non-oil foreign trade will exceed Dh2.5 trillion this year … and we will achieve the target we announced of Dh4 trillion by 2031,” he said on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Intra-regional trade with Turkey, for example, grew 87 per cent in just one year, indicating the effectiveness of our balanced, proactive and positive foreign policies.”

Sheikh Mohammed said that 2023 will be the “best year in the country's history” in terms of the economy.

“The UAE will remain a major player in international trade, maintaining its position as a bridge linking the East with the West, and the North with the South," he said.

Overall, non-oil exports grew by 11.9 per cent annually to Dh205 billion in the first six months of the year, which was more than the full-year levels recorded in 2017, Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, said in separately on Wednesday.

The country's non-oil exports topped Dh200 billion for the first time in the half-year period, underscoring the competitiveness of its manufacturing and services sectors, he said.

Non-oil exports contributed 16.6 per cent to the UAE's total foreign trade in the first half of 2023, compared with about 14.2 per cent during the same period in 2019.

The total value of the UAE's re-exports hit a record Dh341 billion, up 9.9 per cent on the first half of 2022, the government's media office said on Wednesday.

Imports increased 17.5 per cent annually to Dh693 billion, it said.

“These results bode well for our economy. Trade means opportunity and innovation, investments and entrepreneurship, industrial productivity and food security,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said.

The UAE has placed trade “front and centre” of its national growth agenda and is committed to reaching new milestones in the coming months and years.

“There’s definitely more to come. As we sign more comprehensive economic partnership agreements and expand our network of trade partners, we will achieve new milestones – and deliver more growth, more investment and more opportunity for the UAE,” Dr Al Zeyoudi said.

China remained the UAE’s top global trading partner, followed by India, the US, Saudi Arabia and Turkey in the top five, the government said.

Rounding off the top 10 are Iraq, Switzerland, Japan, Hong Kong and Russia.

The UAE's top 10 trading partners recorded an increase in non-oil trade, with a combined growth of 16.7 per cent, while the rest of the markets accounted for growth of 12.4 per cent.

Turkey had one of the highest annual growth rates in the first half of 2023, at 87.4 per cent, with its share of the UAE's total non-oil foreign trade increasing to 4 per cent.

Gold, aluminum, oil, cigarettes, copper wires, jewellery and aluminum topped the list of the UAE's top exports.

Gold exports registered the highest growth in the first half of 2023, up 40.7 per cent to Dh218.3 billion.

The contribution of gold exports to the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade was 17.6 per cent, compared with 14.3 per cent in the same period in 2022.

The Arab world's second-largest economy has signed a series of Cepas with countries such as India, Israel, Turkey and Indonesia.

The country is further working towards signing 26 Cepas as it seeks to attract more investment.

The UAE’s non-oil foreign trade reached a record Dh2.23 trillion last year, an annual increase of 17 per cent as the country adopts various measures to strengthen economic relations with existing and new trade partners around the globe as part of its economic diversification plans.

It was the first time the UAE’s non-oil foreign trade crossed the Dh2 trillion mark.

Trade is also set to receive a boost after the Brics bloc – comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa – invited the UAE and other countries including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iran, Ethiopia and Argentina to join the group this month.

Rev Father Eldho Paul, the vicar at St George's, told The National that worshippers will be able to pray in the new cathedral by May next year.

With an estimated cost of Dh25 million, the project is being fully funded by the church members.

It recently received a Dh1 million donation from prominent Indian businessman Yusuff Ali, chairman of the retail giant LuLu Group.

“I have no words to thank our community members who are fully behind this project,” Fr Paul said.

“But my biggest gratitude is for the leadership of this country that has set an example for tolerance and religious coexistence for the rest of the world.”

The UAE, which has a diverse population of more than 200 nationalities from different religious and ethnic backgrounds, offers freedom to practise different faiths.

There are approximately 40 churches of various denominations in the UAE, including three Hindu temples, a Sikh temple and a Buddhist temple.

The first phase of construction, which cost approximately Dh9 million and includes a parsonage block, vicar's accommodation, VIP rooms, offices, meeting rooms, storage and infrastructure for water and electricity supply and a boundary wall, is complete.

is projected to grow more than four fold to about $780 billion by 2030, which would significantly outpace the global average through the end of the decade, a new study has shown.

The spike from an estimated $180 billion in 2022 means the digital economy would grow at a compound annual growth rate of more than 20 per cent through the decade, Swiss bank UBS said in a new report.

That positions the Middle East to outperform the global average: the worldwide digital economy posted revenue of about $10.5 trillion in 2022 and it is projected to grow to about $23.2 trillion by 2030, which is a CAGR of 10.4 per cent – about half of the region's forecasted growth rate, the Zurich-based lender said.

By 2030, the value of the Middle East's digital economy would be equivalent to about 13.4 per cent of its gross domestic product, from more than 4 per cent last year. That trails advanced economies like the US, where the sector accounts for about 15 per cent of GDP.

While the region is still “at a very early stage of the digital ascent” compared to the global digital economy, it has benefitted from the significant investments made during and after the Covid-19 pandemic, making it “one of the fastest-growing digital economies globally”, analysts at UBS wrote in the report.

They also argue that the Middle East is at a point where China was 10 to 15 years ago and India five to 10 years ago when the digital inflection began in those countries.

UBS divides the digital economy into two pillars: traditional IT spending, which comprises spending by both consumers and enterprises on hardware, software and services; and internet economy spending, which includes e-commerce, digital advertising, online gaming, streaming, ride-hailing, FinTech and others.

“Supported by favourable demographics, strong policy support, solid funding, rising innovation and low penetration rates, we expect the Middle East’s digital economy to grow,” UBS said.

Low penetration rates, in particular, highlight the solid long-term growth potential of the region's digital economy, including in high-margin segments like software, and the internet and its associated services, it said.

Enterprises and governments have lauded digital transformation's critical role in the economy and society as the world prepares for a future largely powered by technology.

Spending on information and communications technology in the Middle East, plus Turkey and Africa, is projected to grow almost 4 per cent annually to surpass $234 billion in 2023, the International Data Corporation previously said.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the Arab world's two biggest economies, will likely spend $34.6 billion and $20 billion, respectively, to be among the leaders in the region's digital economic transformation, the US research firm said.

Investor interest is also projected to grow “sharply” for the rest of the decade, with UBS analysts highlighting the software, internet and data centres as segments investors should concentrate on.

“There are two ways to participate in the Middle East’s rapidly growing digital economy – investing in the right industries or in the right companies,” they said.

“For industries, we recommend investors to consider those that can grow faster and also can generate higher margins.”

Software, in particular, is projected to carry potential with an estimated 15 per cent CAGR over the decade, UBS said, noting that software operating margins can go as high as 35 per cent to 40 per cent, which would drive strong profit growth.

“We believe software is the best way to participate in the region’s continuing digital transformation, where we expect many traditional enterprises to upgrade their IT infrastructure by driving significant investments across software,” it said.

These software services include tools for office productivity and collaboration, the cloud and cybersecurity, the study said – which highlights the current working from anywhere environment.

For start-ups – vital drivers of the digital economy – funding is perceived to have bottomed out, but the region's strong growth outlook is expected to attract more investments from local technology and telecom players, sovereign wealth funds and other global venture capital or private equity funds, UBS said.

Funding for all start-ups and unlisted companies in the Middle East was estimated at $13.6 billion in 2022, effectively flat from 2021, owing mainly to high interest rates, the latest data from CB Insights showed.

“But the good news is that green shoots are emerging thanks to the spiking interest around AI and hopes of a revival in key internet segments like e-commerce and digital advertising in the region,” UBS said.