Capturing investment opportunities in frontier and emerging markets

AIM 2013 will bring together policy makers, business leaders, financiers, high net-worth individuals, location experts, and academia to examine foreign direct investment (FDI) trends, policies and strategies and the key issues and challenges therein and will shed a better light on investment opportunities in frontier and emerging markets. The theme of the third edition of the Annual Investment Meeting will be "A Future International Economic Landscape in the Making, Implications on FDI and the Economic Prospects of Frontier & Emerging Markets".

The explosive growth witnessed in a large number of emerging markets in the last few years is contributing to a significant long-term shift in economic power at the global level from the developed to the developing world in particular emerging markets. According to a recent study by McKinsey & Company, emerging markets accounted for 36 per cent of global GDP and are likely to contribute more than 70 per cent of global GDP growth between now and 2025. Emerging markets are on the driving seat leading world economic growth and hold the key to long-term growth. The rapid rise of these countries has undoubtedly wide and far-reaching business implications.

AIM 2013 takes place at a highly significant time for the economies of the world. In a message addressing future participants in AIM 2013, Sheikha Lubna Bint Khalid Al Qasimi, Minister of Foreign Trade of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) noted that "the 2013 Annual Investment Meeting comes at a time when the state of the global economy is such that it is starting to impact the growth prospects of so many countries around the globe including emerging markets. The drop in global demand and prices for export commodities and decreasing remittances caused a decline in production, employment and income levels in a large number of countries. As to investment, she stressed, we are equally observing major shifts and significant changes in the source, direction and flows of foreign direct investment (FDI)".

According to UNCTAD's World Investment Report 2012, global FDI flows in 2011 exceeded the pre-crisis average reaching $1.5 trillion despite the major difficulties the world economy was undergoing. While FDI in 2011 increased across all major economic groupings, the developing world accounted for 45 per cent of global flows.

Today, emerging economies are, not only major recipients of FDI but also, major sources of investment thus confirming the emergence of a new international economic landscape where the global centre of gravity is moving gradually eastward as well as a new geography of investment. Alongside these shifts the world is also witnessing significant changes in global economic and investment policies.

As business with OECD countries is rapidly supplanted by emerging markets, India and China in particular, there are substantial investment and business opportunities to be identified and high growth hot spots to unlock in a large number of frontier and emerging markets. AIM 2013 offers an excellent platform that will reveal some of these opportunities and help in forging new relationships to build sustainable businesses and partnerships.

AIM 2013 runs 30 April-2 May 2013 at the Dubai International Convention & Exhibition Centre. It includes pre-event activities such as capacity-building workshops and site visits to centres of excellence, an opening ceremony, a thought leadership conference, a tripartite high-level meeting, country presentations, an exhibition, and networking events all juxtaposed with cultural happenings in a Gala Dinner and an Investment Awards Ceremony.

AIM 2013 conference will highlight the benefits that can be derived from enabling policies and new trends in certain areas such as fiscal policies and double taxation treaties, investment incentives or M&As. It will also emphasize investment and trading opportunities in frontier and emerging markets in particular in high growth sectors.

Speakers at the AIM Conference are State Ministers, Heads of IPAs, Senior officials of the United Nations system, private sector CEOs, Experts from Academia, Research centres and leading location Consulting firms. Also, a number of keynote speakers will be invited, whose opinion and expertise influence industry, markets, government and society.

AIM 2013 will also be the occasion to shed a special light on investment opportunities in specific regions such as Africa or Asia. The UAE investment day event with the participation of Highflyers will be the occasion to present business opportunities and investment prospects in the United Arab Emirates, the host country, both as an investment location and a home country investor.

The preliminary list of participating countries in AIM 2013 already includes China, Cyprus, Djibouti, Ghana, Indonesia, Kuwait, Namibia, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Zambia.