DUBAI, 24th March, 2024 (WAM) — Aligned with its global and local sustainable development targets, ENOC Group once again showcased its commitment towards sustainability and energy efficiency by supporting “Earth Hour 2024: The Biggest Hour for Earth”.

Joining millions of people in the UAE and around the world to encourage collective action towards climate change, ENOC switched off non-essential lights at its headquarters and operational facilities on March 23rd from 8.30PM to 9.30PM. All service station forecourts, convenience stores, quick oil change, carwash areas and pylon signs remained dark for an hour.

Saif Humaid Al Falasi, Group CEO, ENOC, said: “ENOC Group is committed to promoting sustainable development initiatives to drive positive change towards the preservation of our environment and the planet. We are dedicated to raising awareness on the importance of optimising energy consumption and will continue to encourage our staff as well as the wider community to minimise environmental impact and practice energy conservation.”

Highlighting the continued focus on environmental, energy and resource management best practices, in Earth Hour 2024, ENOC saved a total of 408 MWh of electricity, which is equivalent to 1,944 kg of CO2 emissions.

ENOC’s E&RM initiatives from 2014 to 2023 have also led to a decrease in specific energy consumption by 23 percent (from 0.67 GJ/ton to 0.516 GJ/ton), and increase in water recycling from 2 percent to 24.86 percent, through initiatives such as waste heat recovery projects in the refinery, propane sphere projects at the MTBE facility, solar PV implementation at service stations, rooftop solar at sites, and various energy and water conservation and optimisation projects.

ABU DHABI, 24th March, 2024 (WAM) — In a strategic move towards advancing customer service excellence, the Federal Tax Authority (FTA) has upgraded three key services to align with the UAE’s pioneering ‘Government Services 2.0’ framework.

This initiative falls under the Government Services Quality Charter, designed to elevate the efficiency and effectiveness of public services, guaranteeing a seamless and user-friendly experience for all customers.

In a press release today, the FTA revealed the successful implementation of three transformative strategies aimed at improving services for “Tax Refund for UAE Nationals Building New Residences”, “Issuance of Tax Certificates” and” Excise Goods Registration Inquiry Response.”

Khalid Ali Al Bustani, the Director General of the Federal Tax Authority, emphasised that this initiative reflects the FTA’s commitment to elevating service standards to meet the highest global benchmarks and practices set forth in the Government Services Quality Charter.

Al Bustani explained, “The FTA has significantly ramped up its efforts to execute a comprehensive plan in line with the Government Services Quality Charter. It has implemented effective transformation measures to expedite the completion of three priority services, minimising required documentation to deliver tangible outcomes swiftly and enhance customer experience.

He further added, “In order to simplify procedures and enhance integration with other systems and entities, the FTA has refined the process for ‘Issuance of Tax Certificates’ to expedite their issuance and improve customer experience. This includes issuing the Tax Residency Certificates to enable applicants to benefit from tax treaties in which the UAE is a party, and the Tax Residency Certificate for Domestic purposes. Additionally, the FTA issues certificates for business activities. In terms of the chat service, the Authority has enhanced the ‘Excise Goods Registration Inquiry Response’ service to improve customer experiences and provide information about the services offered by the Authority through electronic systems to partners via a single channel.”

The Federal Tax Authority highlighted significant enhancements in three key services. These include cutting the processing time for the “Tax Refund for UAE Nationals Building New Residences” from 25 to 20 minutes. The number of steps was reduced from 6 to 5, and the fields were brought down from 35 to 28. Moreover, the FTA has also revamped its website’s search feature to incorporate a direct service application link on the most visited pages for easier access. The number of mandatory fields in the application process was reduced, thereby expediting applications by utilising essential information from the UAE Pass.

The number of necessary documents for the ‘Issuance of Tax Certificates’ service has been cut down from 6 to 5, while reducing the number of fields from 12 to 9. The key service enhancement measures include refining the search feature on the Authority’s website for easier access to the service login link, automating data verification through electronic linkage, enabling the request for multiple certificate copies, integration with the UAE Pass, and providing Electronic Seal on the Digital Certificate for authenticity and validation.

The Federal Tax Authority clarified that for “Excise Goods Registration Inquiry Response”, the service application time has been reduced from 5 minutes to 2 minutes, and the service delivery time has been cut from 2 days to 5 minutes. Key enhancements to the service include providing immediate responses to customer inquiries without redirecting them to the FTA’s partners’ websites, saving customers’ time in accessing inquiry services, and offering information about the services provided by the FTA through its partners’ platforms.

ABU DHABI,24th March, 2024 (WAM) — Jamal Bin Saif Al Jarwan, Secretary-General of the UAE International Investors Council (UAEIIC), stated that UAE investments abroad are performing well despite global economic fluctuations.

The UAE is expanding its investment portfolio to secure future generations with valuable and viable projects, demonstrating sound economic management and commitment to development and cooperation.

Al Jarwan said, “The UAE has strengthened its position in the global economy. The total value of UAE assets abroad, whether government or private, is estimated at $2.5 trillion as of early 2024. It ranked first in the Arab region and West Asia and 15th globally, and second globally in investing in new opportunities.”

In statements to the Emirates News Agency (WAM), Al Jarwan explained that the United States holds the top spot, attracting $65 billion in bonds and $50 billion in direct investments. Egypt follows closely with $65 billion, while the United Kingdom and India each pull in $40 billion in direct investments. Morocco sees $30 billion, and Europe is emerging as a promising future destination due to its currency stability.

He said, “We are currently operating in 90 countries, and I expect India, Indonesia, ASEAN countries, Egypt, Morocco, Central Asian countries, Britain, France, Germany, the United States, Canada, and some Eastern European countries, especially Serbia, Greece, and Turkey, to be the focus of our attention.”

Regarding the breakdown of ownership and capital holders, the Secretary-General of the UAEIIC explained that Emirati investments worldwide are divided between sovereign wealth funds by 72 percent, with Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) playing a primary role, along with Mubadala Investment Company, Investment Corporation of Dubai, Emirates Investment Authority, and ADQ.

He noted that the UAE owns 7 sovereign wealth funds with assets exceeding two trillion dollars, followed by government-owned and quasi-governmental companies at 18 percent, UAE banks at 2.5 percent, and 7.5 percent for family-owned and private companies.

Jamal Al Jarwan said, “There are a series of deals that have been concluded, the most prominent of which was the deal between the American asset management company Apollo Global Management and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority to acquire UniVar Solutions, headquartered in the UAE, for US$8.2 billion.”

He also mentioned the deal of the Canadian Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec acquiring 22 percent of the ownership of DP World in both the Jebel Ali Free Zone and the National Industries Park and Jebel Ali Port for US$5 billion.

He mentioned that among the most important deals in this field is the acquisition by the “e&” group and its subsidiary “Atlas 2022 Holdings” of a stake of 9.8 percent in the British Vodafone group for $4.4 billion, and the acquisition by the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company “ADNOC” of 24.9 percent of the Austrian oil and gas company “OMV AG” from a local sovereign wealth fund affiliated with Mubadala for $4.1 billion, adding: “With the growing popularity of cross-border deals, Ras El-Hekma, a deal of great significance worth $35 billion emerges.”

Jarwan stated that the UAE invested $1.9 billion during the period from 1991 to 2000, and $53.6 billion during another ten-year period from 2001 to 2010. This culminated in a total cumulative balance of Emirati investments abroad by the end of 2022 amounting to $240 billion, compared to $215 billion in 2021.

Regarding annual flows, he clarified that the UAE’s investment flow abroad increased in 2022 to reach $24.833 billion, representing a 10 percent increase from 2021, when it was $22.546 billion. Additionally, the UAE ranked 15th globally in investment flows to world countries in 2022, compared to the 20th position in 2021, according to the report issued by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).