Why more UAE companies are keen to do business in India

SNAP ANALYSIS
India’s minister of external affairs Dr. S Jaishankar in discussion with UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The Indian government undertaking major market-moving reforms to attract foreign investors from the UAE and beyond.
India’s minister of external affairs Dr. S Jaishankar in discussion with UAE foreign minister Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The Indian government undertaking major market-moving reforms to attract foreign investors from the UAE and beyond.Courtesy: ANI

Both nations continue to forge closer and deeper trade relations even amidst a pandemic.

India and the UAE continue to forge closer and deeper trade relations even amidst a pandemic, and the latest instance came from Abu Dhabi last week.

Tablez, a leading Abu Dhabi-based retail and F&B group with a substantial presence in India, announced its decision to launch a proprietary retail chain of toys in India by rebranding its existing toy stores into spaces of experience and entertainment for kids and parents. The company owns 15 toy stores housing products of major international toy brands, in malls located in Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, Ghaziabad, Pune, and Chennai, and has an additional six stores lined up for opening before the end of Q1 2022.

Scaling up investments

The move comes amid UAE scaling up investments from India in sectors such as healthcare, food security and fintech, and the Indian government undertaking major market-moving reforms to attract foreign investors from the UAE and beyond.

The UAE government has said it is looking to provide incentives, including financial contributions, and is ready to make efforts to create a full ecosystem to support Indian generic drug manufacturing companies having strong research and development facilities. The UAE has also expressed a strong desire to set up manufacturing facilities for vaccines by Indian companies. Amin Alamiri, the UAE’s assistant undersecretary of health policy and licensing at the Ministry of Healthy and Prevention (Mohap), said at a recent virtual healthcare conference in Dubai that the nation has “great cooperation” with India, and that the UAE would be eager to support any Indian pharma or medical industry that was looking to "invest with us."

Oxygen cylinders imported from the UAE land in India. Robust India-UAE trade valued at $ 180 million per annum in the 1970s, is today pegged $59 billion.
Oxygen cylinders imported from the UAE land in India. Robust India-UAE trade valued at $ 180 million per annum in the 1970s, is today pegged $59 billion. Courtesy: ANI

Robust bilateral trade

The developments are a further indication of the robust India-UAE trade, valued at US$ 180 million per annum in the 1970s, which is today pegged $59 billion, making the UAE India's third largest trading partner for the year 2019-20 after China and US. For the UAE, India is the second largest trading partner for 2019 with an amount of $41.43 billion in non-oil trade.

Companies such as Tablez are but a part of that strong growth.

Speaking about the company's growth strategy, Adeeb Ahamed, MD of Tablez India, said: "Having invested over INR30 billion in the Indian retail market, we at Tablez are especially bullish about the prospects of India's toy sector and will be furthering our investments in the sector, in line with our vision to innovate value and deliver world-class experiences to the Indian consumer."

Having invested over INR30 billion in the Indian retail market, we at Tablez are especially bullish about the prospects of India's toy sector and will be furthering our investments in the sector, in line with our vision to innovate value and deliver world-class experiences to the Indian consumer.
- Adeeb Ahamed, MD, Tablez India

The company, which has been an active stakeholder in the Indian toys sector for the last six years, feels that the launch of a proprietary toy retail brand is a necessity considering the changing market dynamics of India. "The launch of our proprietary brand gives us the space and flexibility to adapt to the emerging market demand for functional and experiential spaces across India's urban and emerging markets," Ahamed said, adding, "The Indian toy market is evolving fast, and our investments into technology and user experience have enabled us to get a deeper understanding of the Indian consumer. Through our new stores and e-commerce channels, we aim to apply our learnings to build outlets that can double up as both shopping & entertainment avenues for kids and parents."

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