Why does Dubai attract so many global technology companies? | Overseas Practical Training Camp

Those who are not familiar with Dubai may attribute its wealth to oil. However, as early as 40 years ago, this wealthiest region in the Middle East began to plan for an economic structural transformation to reduce its reliance on oil resources. Currently, the contribution of oil revenue to Dubai's GDP is less than 1%.

Dubai mainly regulates the direction of economic development in a top - down manner. Since 1985, Dubai has been setting up free zones within its territory, attracting foreign investment by offering preferential policies and building convenient transportation. Many foreign companies gathered here not only drive Dubai's economic growth but also grow and expand relying on local policy dividends, achieving a win - win situation.

In the past few decades, Dubai has achieved remarkable results in the field of commodity trading, attracting a large number of Chinese enterprises to settle in. For example, the listed company Guangbo Group established a branch in Dubai in 1999. Within a few years, its sales volume increased from $300,000 to $10 million. Using Dubai as a springboard, it successfully entered the global market and became a stationery supplier for international retail giants such as Walmart and Carrefour. In addition to a large number of Chinese traders flocking to Dubai, leading enterprises such as Sinopec, PowerChina, and CSSC, as well as manufacturing giants such as Midea, Hisense, and Hikvision, have also set up operations in Dubai.

In recent years, with the global wave of a new round of industries such as artificial intelligence, Dubai has also adapted to the trend. It has placed more bets on new future industries in its policy layout, creating new opportunities for Chinese enterprises in more fields such as technology, logistics, and healthcare to go global.

01 Artificial Intelligence: Policy - paved and Still a Blue Ocean Market

The UAE government has introduced many policies to support the artificial intelligence industry: It plans to generate AED 338 billion (approximately RMB 350 billion) in related revenue from the artificial intelligence industry by 2031. At the same time, it is promoting a series of supporting measures, including requiring all government departments in Dubai to appoint chief artificial intelligence officers and setting up an artificial intelligence regulatory office to formulate artificial intelligence policies that meet public needs. Moreover, the UAE government is also increasing investment in the field of AI infrastructure. It will build a large - scale artificial intelligence data center park in the capital, Abu Dhabi, with a single - power supply capacity of up to 5 kilowatts.

To promote the implementation of artificial intelligence technology in application fields, the UAE government encourages multiple fields such as finance, healthcare, logistics, and government affairs to gradually adopt AI. For example, Dubai banks have widely applied AI technology in business fields such as anti - fraud and credit approval, medical diagnosis, and logistics operation analysis.

Capital is also flowing in rapidly. In 2024, MGX, a fund headquartered in the UAE, cooperated with Microsoft, BlackRock, etc., to launch a special artificial intelligence fund worth $30 billion for investing in artificial intelligence projects, and plans to increase it to $100 billion in the next few years.

Currently, the AI center of the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC) has attracted more than 120 artificial intelligence companies in just 13 months since its launch, but the proportion of Chinese enterprises is relatively small.

02 Opportunities in the Green Transformation of Climate Technology

According to DMCC data, climate technology has become the most active startup field in the Middle East and North Africa region, and its startup ecosystem continues to mature. Even against the backdrop of the overall slowdown of global venture capital in 2024, investment in the climate technology field in the UAE still increased against the trend, reaching $67 million. More than 50% of this investment was concentrated in early - stage startups, showing strong market vitality.

Government policy drive is one of the reasons for the continued enthusiasm in the capital market. The UAE is the first country in the Middle East to launch the 2050 Net - Zero Strategy. To achieve the goal of net - zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, it has introduced the Climate Law and requires all industries to follow specific reporting standards and targets, carry out reporting work, and take corresponding measures.

Chuhuan Technology, a listed Chinese company, has seized this market opportunity. This enterprise, which focuses on the niche field of waste gas and odor treatment, has established cooperation with the UAE's Water and Electricity Authority and participated in its deep - tunnel project. It is also steadily promoting its sewage treatment business in Saudi Arabia. A relevant person in charge of the company once said at an event: "Policies such as the UAE's 2050 net - zero target are driving a rapid increase in the demand for environmental governance in the entire region." The company is full of confidence in expanding its business in the Middle East.

03 Digital Twin: Building a Smart City in the Desert

In 2022, the UAE government launched the "Dubai Metaverse Strategy", clearly stating that by 2030, it will create more than 40,000 virtual jobs, drive the metaverse's contribution to the local economy to reach $4 billion, and help Dubai rank among the top ten metaverse economies in the world.

The UAE government's metaverse policy also provides a clear path for Chinese enterprises with mature solutions in digital twin and smart city construction to go global. Currently, China's urban digitalization has completed the iterative upgrade from "Safe City 1.0", "AI - empowered 2.0" to "Stage 3.0 driven by large models and embodied intelligence", accumulating rich practical experience in fields such as urban digital construction and industrial twin. The CEO of a domestic technology enterprise said at an event for going global: "From the concept of the 'City Brain' first proposed in Hangzhou to the implementation of smart city applications such as full - domain traffic scheduling and security management relying on video networks and multi - modal large models, these ideas and successful practices are very consistent with the local needs in Dubai, forming a natural path for going global."

04 New Ecosystem and New Opportunities in the Gaming Industry

As one of the countries with the highest per - capita game consumption in the world, the UAE has also become an ideal market for Chinese game products to go global.

Currently, the Dubai government has clearly included the gaming industry in its economic diversification strategy and launched the "Dubai Gaming Plan 2033". The aim is to vigorously develop the gaming ecosystem by attracting global talent, investment, and technology. By 2033, Dubai will be built into one of the top ten global gaming industry centers, creating 30,000 new jobs and contributing $1 billion to the country's GDP. To support the talent ecosystem, Dubai has launched a special 'gaming visa', providing long - term residence permits for professional talents in global game development, art design, etc., to attract top international practitioners.

It is understood that the core of the "Dubai Gaming Plan 2033" is to promote game development integrating VR, AI, and Web3 technologies. The experience accumulated by Chinese enterprises in mobile game development, e - sports operation, and VR content production can also be "copied to Dubai". For example, the DMCC cooperated with the professional e - sports organization YaLLa Esports and launched the DMCC Gaming Center in December 2022. Currently, the DMCC has attracted more than 100 game companies to settle in.

This article is from the WeChat official account "Hangzhou Qiantang Enterprise Going - Global Service Base". Author: Zhejiang Enterprises Going Global.