Significant increase in gulf-based investments [Archives:2007/1115/Local News]
SANA'A, Dec. 26 ) Following favorable responses from gulf-based investors with respects to reforms in the Yemeni business and investment environment, the Government of Yemen is currently adopting an additional range of measures and policies to attract more investments into the country.
The aim of the Yemeni new economic reform policies is to develop comprehensive legislations to address the existing structural imbalances, improve the performance of government administration, and increase the utilization of the country's assets and resources through partnership with the privet sector and investors. Additional measures include an attractive investment law, both in terms of tax and customs exemptions, and in terms of ensuring the unrestricted flow and transfer of funds.
Real Estate and tourism sectors are expected to have the lion share of the influx of investments, and correspondingly, formulate legislation to allow not only foreign establishments to purchase real estate, but also allowing people as well. This legislation followed allowing non-Yemenis to venture into small businesses and sectors which were previously limited to Yemenis, such as food trading, retailing, and community services.
The focus on attracting gulf-based investments is derived from the belief in regional integration in the Arabian peninsular, as the Gulf Cooperative Council (GCC) countries are Yemen's largest trading partner, and have been witnessing an economic boom derived, in part, by the sky rocketing Oil returns, thereby decreasing the cost of capital. This belief in regional integration is mutual, as the GCC countries have pledged over US$ 2.7 billion in the 2006 donors conference, in order to improve the infrastructure and the business enabling reforms.
Apart from the pledges, several investors have expressed interest in investing heavily in Yemen, with amounts exceeding US$ 70 billion over ten years. According to the latest data issued by the General Authority for Investment, the period of April-September 2007 witnessed above-average growth in the flow of foreign investments, increasing by 5.75% over the same period of 2006.
Additionally, the number of investment projects licensed in the third quarter of 2007, have reached 110 projects, exceeding the accumulative number of licensed projects in the first two quarters of the same year, which stood at 102 projects, compared with 78 projects during the corresponding period of 2006.
Chairman of the General Authority for Investment Salah Al-Attar commented on the increase by stating: “The government reforms aimed at continuing efforts to improve the investment environment and include reviewing all policies encouraging foreign direct investment and the laws governing them and the law on banks and the Central Bank of Yemen's law and commercial law and corporate law and the law of commercial brand names and intellectual property law and trademarks The Customs Act and the Tax Code and the law and have the foreign investment law. “”
He also reiterated that the increase in number of licensed projects is a direct consequence to the reforms made by the government of Yemen
