A surplus of some Dh27.3 billion (some US$7.4 billion) is currently being held by local businesswomen in the UAE rather than being invested in profitable ways, according to Raja Eisa Al Gurg, board member of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry and president of the UAE Businesswomen's Council.
The sum, which represents 45 percent of deposits in GCC banks, is held by some 10,271 local businesswomen, said Gurg, according to Gulf News.
Saudi businesswomen, on the other hand, have deposits in the local banks worth 100 billion riyals, while Qatari businesswomen have 10 billion riyals accounting for more than half--53 percent--of the 200,000 investors in the Qatari financial market.
Meanwhile, Thuraya Al Arrayed, consultant and planning adviser of Saudi Aramco affairs, said that some 10 to 29 percent of the region's wealth is owned by GCC businesswomen.
"We are trying to advise GCC businesswomen to find real investment opportunities and to go out of the recently closed box and to think another way in order to discover the regional markets," said Al Arrayed.
© 2006 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
