Posted: 31-05-2010 , 10:57 www.menareport.com
China and the Middle East are likely to expand two-way capital flows rapidly in the coming years, as investment catches up with recent fast growth in trade, the chief executive of Abu Dhabi financial services firm Invest AD told a conference in Shanghai on Monday.
Two-way trade between China and the Middle East has tripled in the last five years to US$107 billion in 2009. Chinese companies have also become more active in the Middle East, especially in the infrastructure sector, winning US$2.1 billion worth of the construction deals in the United Arab Emirates alone in 2008.

The next growth area will be two-way investment, with Abu Dhabi emerging as an entry point to the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), Nazem Al Kudsi said during a panel discussion at the Abu Dhabi and China Economic Forum. The Middle East and China are becoming major investors on the global arena, and both are high-growth markets.

“There are exciting opportunities for both sides,” Al Kudsi said. “And as China looks at MENA, Abu Dhabi is emerging as the easiest and most attractive route into the region. Whether you’re a Chinese oil entity, a construction entity, or a financial services entity, Abu Dhabi is creating the right financial, logistics and telecoms infrastructure.”

The Middle East and North Africa region is expected to record 4.2 percent growth in gross domestic product this year, while China is headed for 10 percent growth, according to the International Monetary Fund.