Abu Dhabi has extended an invitation and offered support to Chinese startups to come and do business in the city at the Abu Dhabi Investment Forum.

There are more than five million startups in China, Ahmad Ali Alwan, chief executive of Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem Hub71, said at the forum held yesterday. It would be great if the city attracts even 1 percent to do business there, he added.

As a rising technology and finance hub in the Middle East, Abu Dhabi is drawing the attention of global tech companies through its flexible regulatory mechanisms, open ecosystem, and strategic international cooperation.

Many people still view Abu Dhabi as a traditional energy center and overlook its potential as a tech hub, Ahmad noted. Hub71 is working with partners to understand the demands of Chinese companies and hopes to receive more genuine feedback so that it can adjust its policies in a timely manner, he added.

Yufeng Future, a Chinese unmanned electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle maker, is seeking new overseas market opportunities at the forum, a representative from the Shanghai-based company told Yicai. “But we know this process is not accomplished overnight, so we will always consider establishing a foothold in the new market.”

With capital support from sovereign wealth funds and family offices, startups can obtain end-to-end growth support in Abu Dhabi, Ahmad said. Local financial institutions not only focus on the early-stage financing of enterprises but also pave the way for their future listing or mergers and acquisitions, he pointed out.

Hub71 has supported over 300 startups, Ahmad noted, adding that together with 150 partners, it has created more than 800 job opportunities and raised over USD2 billion in funding.

The Abu Dhabi Global Market can help companies connect to global capital markets through Abu Dhabi, said Wai Lum Kwok, senior executive director of the international financial center and free zone. Its regulatory mechanism allows firms to test innovative products in a controlled environment and experiment and iterate to adjust dynamically, he added.

A delegation of 140 government and business officials led by Ahmed Jasim Al Zaabi, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development, is visiting Shanghai to strengthen alliances and explore new economic and trade cooperation opportunities with Chinese companies, with the Abu Dhabi Investment Forum being one of its stops.

About Yicai Global

Launched in August 2016, Yicai Global is the English-language news service of Yicai Media Group, the financial news arm of Shanghai Media Group, which is one of China’s largest state-owned media conglomerates. Focused primarily on China’s business world, Yicai Global is dedicated to provide reliable and insightful information and analysis of the economy, finance, tech, startups, and entrepreneurs.

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