Up to 66% of Indian expats plan to increase their investments in the UAE – HSBC

Up 66 per cent of Indian nationals living in the UAE plan to increase their investments in the country over the next three years, according to HSBC’s new Global Indian Pulse report.

Their investments are mainly focused on real estate, stock markets, and private businesses, the report found.

UAE-based Indians see property (56 per cent) as the most important investment, followed by stocks and shares (40 per cent), while 51 per cent of affluent Indians are targeting investments in UAE businesses. Around nine in 10 are already investing in the UAE (87 per cent) and India (93 per cent).

They also back technology and tourism as the sectors most likely to perform strongly in the UAE over the next decade or so.

The study also found that 78 per cent of Indian expats in the UAE say environmental and social initiatives including electric cars (39 per cent), recycling (35 per cent) and skills development (34 per cent) are a key part of their decision making when investing in the Emirates.

This is particularly the case for affluent Indians (91 per cent) and for those aged over 30 (80 per cent), both groups identified as planning to increase their investments in the UAE and India in the next three years.

While Indians in the UAE are mostly likely to be planning to increase their investments for financial reasons, over a third are motivated by wanting to promote positive change in the UAE, the report added.

“It’s encouraging to see the focused alignment between the investment appetite of affluent UAE-based Indians with the country’s transformation and sustainability plans,” said Abdulfattah Sharaf, UAE CEO and head of International at HSBC.

“The UAE has been confirmed as the host of the COP28 summit in 2023 and the Middle East is set to play a leadership role in the transition to net zero.”

The report also found most Indians in the UAE are happy (84 per cent), safe (88 per cent) and financially secure (72 per cent), and despite the pandemic, majority are feeling optimistic about the future.

Overall, the investment intentions of expat Indians in the UAE are significantly higher than the global average, where 59 per cent plan to invest in their country of residence, the report added.

“At 3.5 million, the UAE is home to the largest number of Indians abroad. India is already the UAE’s second largest trading partner and as both economies continue to prosper and grow so will the ambitions of Indian entrepreneurs, businesses and high net worth individuals based here,” said Sharaf.

“There’s a huge vibrancy and an incredible untapped economic opportunity associated with India which transcends traditional investments and goes much deeper into the two-way flows of talent, capital, technology and access to markets,” he added.

HSBC’s study surveyed 4,152 people across nine markets including the US, UK, Canada, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and Australia, including 1,101 respondents from the Emirates.