Page 36 from: May 2015

During his presentation to the recent International Conference of the

Bureau of Middle East Recycling, Timothy Fox of Emirates National

Bank of Dubai forecast that real growth in the Gulf Coast region will

be affected by changes in oil production and government spending,

with budgets to be influenced by lower oil prices and export volumes.

In his opening speech to the 4th International Conference of the Bureau of Middle East Recy-
cling (BMR), a non-profit group that represents

suppliers and traders of the Middle East recycling

industry, the organisation’s chairman Salam Al

Sharif stressed the importance of a united plat-

form for the recycling industry in the Middle East

given that the region has become one of the most

important markets for raw materials.

‘Dubai is set for a 10-15% FDI (foreign direct

investment) growth this year,’ he noted. ‘The

United Arab Emirates (UAE) also refines and

re-exports some 70 000 to 100 000 tonnes of

non-ferrous metals every month, with an annu-

al turnover of US$ 4.5 billion. A total volume

of 5 million tonnes of scrap metal is exported

annually from the UAE.’

Addressing around 300 delegates, including the

UAE Minister of Environment and Water, at the

InterContinental at the InterContinental Dubai

Festival Hotel, Sharif stressed that the UAE is

currently the world’s fourth-largest aluminium

producer. ‘Having invested in development and

expansion of existing and new aluminium

smelters, the UAE is now looking to vertically

integrate into upstream and downstream in the

future,’ he said. ‘Boosting aluminium smelter

capacities in the Gulf Coast would help to drive

the growth of downstream activities in the

market. We are looking at an investment of

some US$ 70 billion in downstream projects.’

Currently, the region’s aluminium industry con-

tributes between 4% and 12% to local GDP but

smelters have collectively boosted production

capacity by up to 40% to reach 5 million tonnes

in 2014. By 2020, the Gulf Coast region is

expected to account for up to 25% of the world’s

aluminium production, or an estimated 7 mil-

lion tonnes per year, according to Sharif.

‘Absence of leadership’
Timothy Fox of Emirates National Bank of

Dubai (NBD) provided the conference with an

outlook on the world economy and on the Gulf

Coast region in particular. He quoted Christine

Lagarde, chair of the International Monetary

Fund, who recently stated that ‘the global recov-

ery is brittle, uneven and beset with risks with a

period of mediocre growth’. He pointed to a

number of threats to the world economy, such

as: the fact that the European Central Bank faces

deflation with Euro 1.1 trillion as a result of

pumping billions into the EU economies; Swit-

zerland’s decision to drop the Swiss Franc peg;

the possibility of a Greek exit from the EU; Rus-

sia’s intervention in Ukraine which is continuing

T H E G U L F R E G I O N By Manfred Beck

Timothy Fox: ‘We expect non-oil
growth to remain relatively
robust.’

Salam Al Sharif: ‘Dubai is set for
a 10-15% foreign direct invest-
ment growth this year.’

Budgets in the Middle east are
still heavily reliant on oil

A tale of oil and opportunity

36 May 2015

RI 4-ME_BMR Conference.indd 36 04-05-15 09:20