Make it in the Emirates by Red Door Productions FZ LLC

KHALEEJ TIMES FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2022

BUILDING GLOBAL INDUSTRIAL BASE Delivering Glocal Excellence Envisaging a plethora of networking and collaborating opportunities, the MakeitintheEmirates Forum provided the perfect platform for entities looking to enter the UAE market Muhammad Ali Bandial ali@khaleejtimes.com

he UAE has established itself as one of the world’s go-to investment destinations and is on the fast track to emerging as a global hub for manufacturing and industry. It offers a solid foundation for business development, with access to major entities’ supply chains, a competent and well-educated workforce, a stable regulatory framework and state-of-the-art infrastructure in an environment conducive to good business. The country offers an attractive value proposition with a range of competitive advantages as well as the ease of doing business for investors and foreign companies. The UAE is also a reliable supplier of energy and raw materials, has a best-in-class ICT infrastructure, is strategically located with world-class logistics infrastructure and advanced technology capabilities. Keeping up with this tradition, the Make it in the Emirates Forum recently took place in Abu Dhabi at the ADNOC Business Center on June 21-22. The forum, together with local decisionmakersandtheirrepresentatives,detailed some of the investment opportunities that stem from their potential purchase agreements. The forum highlighted the unique opportunities for international investors and manufacturers to invest in establishing production facilities in the UAE, supported by the great visibility

into procurement contracts from some of the largest UAE companies. The UAE is offering financial incentives and facilities to attract investment in manufacturing as part of the country’s efforts to increase the contribution of the industrial sector to the national economy. The details shared during the investment forum included compelling financing solutions, including advanced technology and equipment financing through Emirates Development Bank (EDB). Other facilities and incentives provided by the UAE included Golden Visa for investors with 100 per cent foreign business ownership permitted. Export credit insurance is available at competitive rates, enabling companies to export their products internationally with little to no risk, while foreign trade agreements increase access to markets for the UAE products. The Make it in the Emirates Forum is part of the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology’s efforts to collaborate and engage with the global industrial community, investors and experts. Major local and international investors attended the forum, creating an excellent networking platform and helping stakeholders to tap into the UAE’s vibrant industrial ecosystem. With representation from major customers, facilitators, industrial zones, local and international investment partners, the forum offered the perfect stepping stone for entities to expand their industrial footprint in the Gulf region. The forum brought together the largest industrial companies and enablers from across the UAE to share their procurement plans, significant investment opportunities and how these translate into local manufacturing investment opportunities. These companies prioritise local suppliers and are looking to engage with top-ranking local and international businesses keen to invest in UAE-based manufacturing and production. For investors, manufacturers and technology providers in sectors including energy, telecoms, aerospace, healthcare and food and beverages, the Make it in

BUILDING ON THE SUCCESS OF THE UAE INDUSTRIAL STRATEGY TO DATE, THE FORUM AIMS TO INCREASE ON

DH116 BILLION

in UAE industrial exports in 2021

150 BILLION

in Industrial sector’s contribution to national GDP in 2021

2 BILLION

Industrial financing through EDB to date

41.4 BILLION

redirected into the national economy through ICV

220

new factories have gone into service and began production the Emirates Forum offers unique access to significant, long-term business opportunities in the UAE. The forum was hosted by the Ministry of Industry and Advanced Technology (MoIAT) in conjunction with the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC). The Make it in the Emirates Forum was held under the theme of ‘Invest, Partner, Grow’, convening more than 1,300 delegates, including 20 speakers from all levels and sectors including industrial investors, national companies, financial institutions and government entities. The forum aims to empower industrial growth in the UAE, contribute to economic development, and increase supply chain resilience. It also provides a unique opportunity for leading national

All it takes to boost your exports and trade Ease of access to export funding

Export credit insurance to protect payments Advisory services to explore alternative suppliers and buyers

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Email us at info@eci.gov.ae for your credit insurance needs.

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LEVERAGING THE UAE’S COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGES ■ A leadership that supports the industrial sector’s development, looks to the future with a positive outlook, provides and focuses on ensuring stability and a flexible and encouraging environment that achieves the best results ■ Ongoing efforts to enhance ease of doing business and reduce costs ■ Reliable and credible laws and policies that protects investors ■ A commitment to environmental protection and sustainability ■ Financing opportunities, technical support, business incubator ■ Strategic geographic location, export capabilities and comprehensive strategic partnerships ■ Business environment that supports investors and entrepreneurs ■ Reliable access to raw materials as well as traditional and renewable energy ■ Advanced regulatory framework that attracts foreign investments ■ Highly qualified and skilled workforce ■ World-class integrated transportation and logistics infrastructure ■ Excellent quality of life in a diverse, tolerant and safe society ■ World-class communication and information technology infrastructure companies and manufacturers to build partnerships, while promoting the development of existing industries and exploring growth opportunities for future industries. As a result, 12 of the UAE’s leading companies have identified over 300 products across 11 sectors to be manufactured locally, with a total purchase value of Dh110 billion, which will ul-

timately contribute Dh6 billion to the GDP annually. The product and service requirements of national companies span 11 sectors, including metals, petrochemicals and chemical products, rubbers and plastics, machinery and equipment, defence, pharmaceuticals, technology and medical equipment, communications, F&B and agricultural technology.

FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2022 KHALEEJ TIMES

MAKE IT IN THE EMIRATES

Ensuring Nation’s Health Dr. Ahmed El Tigani Founder and CEO at Al Rawabi Dairy Company talks about the iconic journey of the organisation

Raising The Bar The company breaks new ground in local manufacturing and industrial innovation

he UAE government envisions the industrial sector playing an increasingly vital role in the country’s economic transformation. ‘Operation 300bn’ aims to raise the industrial sector’s contribution to the GDP from Dh133 billion to AED 300 billion by 2031. Part of this vision is to support the growth of national industries and enhance their global competitiveness. As one of the largest manufacturing businesses in the UAE and a strong supporter of the ‘Make it in the Emirates’ initiative, Ducab has supplied cable solutions to flagship projects in the UAE and beyond. Local customers include the Burj Khalifa, Dubai Metro, Emirates Palace, Burj Al Arab, #Expo2020 Dubai, Dubai Airport, Atlantis The Palm and Yas Marina Circuit. Internationally, Ducab products are today exported to 45 markets across the Gulf, Asia, Oceania, Africa, Europe, and the Americas. Exports cover approximately 60 per cent of overall production, a proportion that has expanded significantly in the last few years. The biggest markets outside the GCC are Hong Kong and India, while Maldives has emerged as a new and growing market for Ducab. The renewable energy sector represents one of the most exciting new opportunities for

Ducab’s cable solutions. Ducab’s line of SolarBICC cables cater specifically to the solar energy sector and was selected for two of the region’s largest solar power generation projects, including the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in Dubai and Shams 1 in Abu Dhabi. Ducab scores 93.7 per cent on ICV and supports In-Country Value (ICV) efforts in the manufacturing sector to promote collaboration amongst local industry players and facilitate local goods and services procurement. Ducab works with leading partners across the UAE industrial value chain such as EGA, KIZAD, and Borouge, while acquiring many of their requirements from UAEbased organisations. Apart from the direct injection of money into UAE’s economy that would otherwise go into imports, such efforts also support local job creation and local talent-hiring and training as the foundation for more sustainable development.

Please take us through the journey of Al Rawabi and the vision behind it as a Made in UAE brand. Deep in the heart of Dubai’s desert at Al Khawaneej, Al Rawabi’s story kicked off with 500 cows imported from Germany, leading to today’s success. In 1989, the UAE’s leading dairy producer had a humble start but was backed up by a strong and wise vision to be the brand of choice in every market. That led the company in 1992 to step into the Omani market and become the only dairy company in the GCC three years later to produce pasteurised juices. Many achievements led to Forbes including Al Rawabi in its top 40 strong brands in the Middle East in 2008. Today, the company has more than 16,500 cattle and produces 350,000 litres of dairy products and 150,000 litres of juice daily. But at Al Rawabi, we believe that there are no boundaries to what we can achieve and the sky is the limit. How does the brand ensure sustainable best practices on its farms to ensure environmental health? Al Rawabi prides itself on persistently reducing adverse environmental effects. At Al Rawabi, we ensure that our products are entirely safe and healthy by using the most advanced technological production means, thus, limiting or lessening the impact on the environment. This has been crowned with the certifications Al Rawabi received for its best practices in quality management, food safety, and environmental management.

t the first-ever Make it in the Emirates Forum, Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI) emphasised how fostering innovation, driven by breakthrough technology could strengthen UAE’s 4IR strategy and help position the country as a manufacturing powerhouse by creating a sense of pride in locally made products. The UAE launched its manufacturing strategy to markedly raise its contribution to the country’s GDP within a decade. The growth of the manufacturing sector is also crucial to advance the UAE’s economic diversification strategies and equip the country for the post-oil era.

Therefore, ECI identified the most important issue the companies face in their growth journey — the shortage or hardship in securing financing support for their capital and cash flow requirements. The Federal entity addresses these challenges by providing innovative trade insurance and financing solutions to prosper in a competitive marketplace and leverage the advanced digital technologies to improve productivity and embrace sustainability. ECI’s solutions enable the UAE companies to focus on new product innovations in the spirit of the Make it in the Emirates initiative, leading to more job creation and improved income generation throughout the country. The repayment guarantees extended by ECI to commercial banks in the UAE give them massive incentives to lend to businesses in order to help them acquire leading-edge digital pro-

duction (ADP) technologies that are the mainstay of the 4IR. These technologies and machinery can increase production efficiency and act as a catalyst to maintain sustained industrial competitiveness and the advancement of the manufacturing sector. They not only improve the efficiency of the production process, but also help companies reduce their carbon emissions and energy consumption, making a huge contribution to environmental sustainability — a key objective of ECI in relation to the UAE’s sustainability agenda. In addition, with the enhanced trade security and access to funds, as well as reduced cost of finances due to government-backed guarantees, ECI remains one of the main pillars of generating tremendous investment opportunities and attracting enhanced FDI inflows to the UAE’s manufacturing sector.

Homemade Freshness The UAE’s first and oldest locally based company continues to lead the way in providing its customers with the most purest sourced products

l Ain Farms is the UAE’s leading food company that endeavours to better the lives of a growing and ever-changing local community. Founded in 1981, by the Father of the Nation, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, Al Ain Farms was the first dairy company established in the country. Today, after 40 years, Al Ain Farms is one of the largest integrated locally based companies that runs four farms and productions under one brand — the dairy business, the fresh juice business, the camel milk production, and the poultry section and producing fresh chicken and eggs. Al Ain Farms has always been supporting families in the UAE in making the right choice when it comes to freshness and nutrition on a daily basis. As a brand whose primary purpose is to provide a quality nutrition to the whole of

the UAE, at the same time, the company upholds the promise of preserving the environment. Al Ain Farms is currently the largest integrated local farm in the country with 15,000 cows, 1,500 camels and eight million chickens on its premises. Bulk of the current business is driven by the scale of the dairy industry, inclusive of camel milk that also goes to export sales in powder form and fresh juice, without any added sugar. Poultry business with 120 million eggs sold and eight million chickens sold annually currently contributes to one quarter of the business. The plan is to further grow the poultry industry, with investments in the state-of the art largest local hatchery owned by the company. Since the company inception in 1981, Al Ain Farms has provided the community with dairy, poultry, juices and camel milk. Going

Please elaborate about the environmentally friendly biogas plant that is on the farm. The world is now shifting towards green energy, which is a more sustainable and environmentally friendly option. Al

Rawabi, since its inception, has prioritised the safety and wellbeing of its community. Thus, initiatives such as launching a biogas facility have been taken. The facility has started operating fully in Dubai, turning organic waste produced by the company into clean energy. The business perspective was also considered as it’s an attempt, in the long run, to reduce the production cost and keep the price of the products the same. The facility will allow Al Rawabi to achieve energy consumption that will be 30 per cent cleaner compared to other modes.

How has ease of setting up a business changed over the last three decades? The UAE population has always considered the dairy sector as a health-centric sector. The last three decades have seen a rise in the industry due to the increase

Facilitating Access To Trade Sir Massimo Falcioni CEO of Etihad Credit Insurance highlights the importance of the UAE’s (4IR) strategy for manufacturing businesses

in the population, the swift expansion of the UAE economy, and the country becoming a tourist attraction. Over the years, Al Rawabi has grown and kept up with the technological advances and economic changes and has put exceptional work in order to meet the needs of its customers even during the pandemic.

forward, the company continue to welcome and inspire everyone to enhance their lifestyle with our products, and encourage to share this with their community. Ain Farms is home to 42 nationalities, sharing the same desire to help improve the lives in their community. Sustainability has become a major imperative for all companies that wish to compete on a global scale, alongside fair pay, transparency, and traceability. Al Ain Farms recently launched its fresh milk (low fat and full fat) in glass bottles (1L), to increase its recyclability and reusability, making it the first company in the region to do so. Although the company’s other milk products will continue to be bottled in plastic, but the company is working on a programme to start recycling all of its plastic. Having launched an integrated PET factory to produce its own bottles and source most of the materials locally, the company will continue to assess the sustainability aspect of the new packaging and may roll out this format in other products if deemed feasible. Al Ain Farms is also working on reducing its ecological footprint, especially within its farms.

How has the experience of operating an organisation been in the UAE? Your plans on expanding beyond the Emirates? Innovation was always a big part of Al Rawabi’s plan, as they introduced unique immunity-boosting products such as yogurt and fresh juices with beneficial vitamins. In addition, Al Rawabi kept an eye on sports and the healthy lifestyle by producing enriched protein milk and Nutree boost flavoured Laban with oats. Al Rawabi’s uniqueness is derived from the fact that it’s an entirely local success story and it stands by its famous motto, ‘From farm to table in 24hours’. Al Rawabi has also given the environmental aspect a significant focus by being the first to launch a biogas facility in the Middle east. This desire to keep up with technology, while protecting the environment, makes Al Rawabi one of the leaders in the sector. What can you tell us about your latest campaign ‘Nations Health’? Also, please add anything else that you would like to share briefly. In the coming days, Al Rawabi’s Nations Health campaign will kick off through which the brand leads the way in raising awareness about multiple health issues such as Vitamin D deficiency and more. Making health a priority is not uncommon for Al Rawabi, as their products, such as Vitamin D Milk, are perfectly aligned with the Nation’s Health campaign long-term plan by ensuring they are enriched with vitamins, providing various benefits. Al Rawabi has been a loyal servant to the nation for decades and has made health a priority in the light of pandemics. The brand promises to ensure the Nation’s health and looking at our history; you have got to feel that you’re in safe hands with an entity that has booked its place in the UAE’s history.

A Bold Aspiration Abdulnasser bin Kalban Chief Executive Officer Emirates Global Aluminium shares the four decades old journey of the company and the plans for the road ahead How does EGA contribute to the economy of the UAE? Emirates Global Aluminium was founded as Dubai Aluminium as part of one of the earliest waves of economic diversification in the UAE. We can trace our history back to 1975. Our original plant was built at the same time as other important foundational UAE projects like Jebel Ali Port. Our biggest contribution to the economy is our own business activity. We are the largest industrial company in the UAE, outside oil and gas. Our metal is the biggest Made-in-the-UAE export after oil and gas. We also contribute to the economy by buying goods and services we need locally. Last year, we spent $1.6 billion on goods and services in the UAE, which was 45 per cent of our total procurement spend. We are looking to grow this further, including through the In-Country Value (ICV) programme and Make it in the Emirates. Local companies also make products using our metal. We have 26 local customers, making everything from window frames to car parts for local use and export around the world. We sell 10 per cent of our metal locally. The aluminium sector is a great example of what can be achieved through Operation 300bn and Make it in the Emirates to further diversify our economy. What is the scale of EGA’s contribution to the economy of the UAE? Our purpose at EGA is ‘Together, innovating aluminium to make modern life possible’. One important way we make modern life possible in the countries where we operate — the UAE and the Republic of Guinea, where we have a mining operation — is by driving sustainable economic growth. We have calculated our total economic impact — that’s direct (our own activity), indirect (our supply chain and customers) and induced (spending of wages earned in the aluminium sector) — and it is Dh20 billion a year, that’s 1.4 per cent of the entire national economy. In total, we support more than 60,000 jobs — that’s one in 100 UAE jobs. It’s a significant contribution and we want to grow it further. What are your plans to grow your contribution to the UAE economy in line with Operation 300bn? We have a goal and we call it a ‘bold aspiration’. It translates to doubling our economic contribution in the countries where we operate by 2040. That means taking our economic contribution in the UAE from Dh20 billion today to Dh40 billion by 2040. It’s a big goal, and we are approaching it in four ways; by growing our business, increasing local procurement, growing our local customer base and lastly, by increasing our Emiratisation. The latter is already at 40 per cent of in-focus roles. Operation 300bn has an important role to play

in this — particularly the ICV programme on local procurement, and the Make it in the Emirates brand to boost demand for UAE made products. We are aiming to play a full part in it. How do you see the future of the aluminium industry, particularly with regards to sustainability? Aluminium is lightweight but strong, electrically and thermally conductive, and corrosion-resistant. Most importantly, it is infinitely recyclable. It is part of everything from electric vehicles to windfarms. The International Aluminium Institute forecasts that demand will grow by between 50 per cent and 80 per cent by 2050. However, it also matters how sustainably aluminium is made. At EGA, we believe that all aspects of sustainability are important, but we recognise the particular significance of greenhouse gas emissions. Aluminium is one of the more carbon intensive metals to produce. Decarbonisation is the most significant challenge our industry has ever faced, but at EGA we are making progress. We have developed our own aluminium smelting technology for more than 25 years, and our latest technology is amongst the most efficient in the industry. But we also need to make step changes. This was the thinking behind our development of the world’s first low carbon aluminium produced using the power of the sun through a partnership with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, which operates the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park in the desert outside Dubai. The launch of EGA’s CelestiAL solar aluminium was not only a milestone in our industry’s drive to net zero but will also contribute to the achievement of the global Net Zero ambitions and the UAE’s Net Zero by 2050 strategic initiative. Our customers for this metal include BMW Group and a Tier 1 supplier of Mercedes-Benz. What are EGA’s expansion plans? EGA announced last year that it had completed an expansion of the Al Taweelah smelter in Abu Dhabi ahead of schedule and under budget. We added 66 reduction cells in total through extensions to all three potlines in Al Taweelah, bringing the total number of reduction cells to 2,743. In2021, EGA sold 2.54 million tonnes of cast metal, and the new cells add to our smelting capacity. In the past decade, we expanded EGA upstream and internationally with the construction of a bauxite mine in the Republic of Guinea in West Africa and an alumina refinery at Al Taweelah in Abu Dhabi. Our focus is to creep the production at the assets we have, while growing strategically including to localise our supply chain and make progress in sustainability. We have announced two projects recently — a plant to make silicon metal, which is added to aluminium to make high strength alloys, particularly for the automotive industry; and an aluminium recycling plant, which will be the biggest in the UAE. Ultimately, all these efforts are designed to strengthen our business, and in so, doing support the achievement of our bold aspiration to double our economic contribution in the countries where we operate by 2040.

KHALEEJ TIMES FRIDAY, AUGUST 5, 2022