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WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
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United Arab Emirates
Index
Downtown Dubayy, capital of the amirate of Dubayy
Courtesy Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, Washington
Non-oil industries have had a checkered history. On the
positive side, federal and local governments have
initiated many
industrial projects that have aided in the development of
the
UAE. Local and foreign private capital found numerous
opportunities in the friendly business climate of the
amirates,
with the result that by 1987 manufacturing contributed 9
percent
to GDP (see
table 28, Appendix). However, because of the
lack of
a unified planning mechanism and outright competition
among
amirates, redundancy has been a recurring problem. For
example,
there are nine cement factories in the UAE with a total
capacity
of 8.5 million tons per year. Local demand was estimated
in 1986
atonly 2 million tons. In addition, out of five steel
rolling
mills, three have had to close. Plastics and certain foods
are
overproduced. A 1988 study by the Ministry of Economy and
Industry reported that local industry suffered from low
wage
levels, a lack of new technology, and a low level of value
added
in many industries. In 1983 the Emirates Industrial Bank
was
established; one of its roles is to assist ailing
industries
financially.
Dubayy, with its long history of entrepĂ´t trading, has
the
most developed non-oil industrial sector. Abu Dhabi,
however, has
focused on using its oil resources in
downstream (see Glossary)
facilities. Some of the northern amirates are developing
their
mineral resources. By 1990 total manufacturing output had
a value
of about US$2.6 billion, with 80 percent of the UAE's
factories
located in Abu Dhabi, Dubayy, and Sharjah.
Data as of January 1993
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