UAE to invest $700 billion in East Asia

Philstar.com, March 12, 2009 05:34 PM 

JAKARTA (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) plans to invest up to $700 billion in East Asia as the country had huge profits from soaring oil prices in recent years, an official said here today. 

Muhammad Lutfi, head of the Indonesian Capital Investment Coordinating Board, said the UAE has been looking for alternative places to invest. 

A delegation led by Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed, UAE Deputy Prime Minister, met with Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla at the latter’s office here to talk about the opportunity to invest in Southeast Asia's largest economy. 

Luffi said that among the sectors for possible investment discussed by the two leaders are energy, agriculture, tourism and food security. 

"They have money and now they are looking for alternatives for investment, they want to go to the East. Their policy, after the economic crisis, is to step up trade and investment in the East, including Indonesia, China and Japan," Luffi added.