Ireland will establish a permanent business-promotion office in Abu Dhabi as it seeks to use its rebounding economy as a springboard to speed up the flow of trade and investment.
The announcement was made during a visit by the Irish prime minister, Enda Kenny, to the capital yesterday. Mr Kenny is leading the country’s biggest business delegation to the GCC, taking in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
“Enterprise Ireland is the trade and technology board of the Irish government,” said Mr Kenny, during the Abu Dhabi-Ireland Business Forum. “Its role is to ensure the business partners, customers and associates of Irish companies are fully informed about the benefits of doing business with Ireland, and the establishment of an office in Abu Dhabi is a significant step in that direction.”
Enterprise Ireland already has an office in Dubai serving the UAE and the wider region, but the additional office in Abu Dhabi is in response to greater interest in the capital from Irish companies.
Bilateral trade between Ireland and the UAE in 2012 reached €1 billion (Dh5bn), a figure officials expect to rise after Ireland’s economy emerged from recession in the second quarter of last year.
Mr Kenny said export growth would remain at a high level this year, as the economy expanded by 2 per cent.
“After three difficult budgets, things are beginning to point in the right direction,” he said.
Last month it became the first stricken euro zone country to exit its rescue programme. Three years prior the €67.5bn package provided by a trio of international lenders helped to avert Ireland from bankruptcy after a downturn in its property market.
Since then it has curtailed public spending, while pushing through business-friendly reforms. As a result, Forbes magazine last month rated the country the best for business in the world.
Now, Ireland is keen to tempt investment from the UAE.
“We have been very strongly attractive for foreign investment coming into the country, which is an opportunity for the UAE also,” said Mr Kenny.
In a sign of returning investor confidence in Ireland, the country’s bond yields have dropped to their lowest level in eight years. The country sold €3.75bn of bonds on Tuesday at a yield of 3.54 per cent.
The Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry intends to lead a delegation to Ireland later this year, Mr Kenny said. Previously in Qatar, he said the Qatar Investment Authority would also travel to Ireland in the coming months to examine opportunities in a number of areas.
Businesses from information communications technology, finance and construction are among those on the mission. Many are keen to expand their export markets or establish a presence in the GCC.
Some have already generated positive news during the trip. The engineering company Kentz International Ireland plans to open a new branch in Doha, offering services in oil, gas, transportation and infrastructure, the Irish Times reported yesterday. The mobility solutions provider Díona Technologies also said it had sealed a partnership deal with the Qatar-based IT firm MDS, the newspaper reported.
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SPAIN SQUAD
Goalkeepers Simon (Athletic Bilbao), De Gea (Manchester United), Sanchez (Brighton)
Defenders Gaya (Valencia), Alba (Barcelona), P Torres (Villarreal), Laporte (Manchester City), Garcia (Manchester City), D Llorente (Leeds), Azpilicueta (Chelsea)
Midfielders Busquets (Barcelona), Rodri (Manchester City), Pedri (Barcelona), Thiago (Liverpool), Koke (Atletico Madrid), Ruiz (Napoli), M Llorente (Atletico Madrid)
Forwards: Olmo (RB Leipzig), Oyarzabal (Real Sociedad), Morata (Juventus), Moreno (Villarreal), F Torres (Manchester City), Traore (Wolves), Sarabia (PSG)
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
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Result
Arsenal 4
Monreal (51'), Ramsey (82'), Lacazette 85', 89')
West Ham United 1
Arnautovic (64')
Motori Profile
Date started: March 2020
Co-founder/CEO: Ahmed Eissa
Based: UAE, Abu Dhabi
Sector: Insurance Sector
Size: 50 full-time employees (Inside and Outside UAE)
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Safe City Group
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The National in Davos
We are bringing you the inside story from the World Economic Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos, a gathering of hundreds of world leaders, top executives and billionaires.
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Day 1, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Dimuth Karunaratne had batted with plenty of pluck, and no little skill, in getting to within seven runs of a first-day century. Then, while he ran what he thought was a comfortable single to mid-on, his batting partner Dinesh Chandimal opted to stay at home. The opener was run out by the length of the pitch.
Stat of the day – 1 One six was hit on Day 1. The boundary was only breached 18 times in total over the course of the 90 overs. When it did arrive, the lone six was a thing of beauty, as Niroshan Dickwella effortlessly clipped Mohammed Amir over the square-leg boundary.
The verdict Three wickets down at lunch, on a featherbed wicket having won the toss, and Sri Lanka’s fragile confidence must have been waning. Then Karunaratne and Chandimal's alliance of precisely 100 gave them a foothold in the match. Dickwella’s free-spirited strokeplay meant the Sri Lankans were handily placed at 227-4 at the close.
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test India won by innings and 53 runs at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Lamsa
Founder: Badr Ward
Launched: 2014
Employees: 60
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: EdTech
Funding to date: $15 million
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