The United Arab Emirates will give preferential treatment to a locally owned holding group after it pledged on Saturday to hire thousands of citizens, days after the government unveiled a $6.5 billion plan to hire More Emiratis in the private sector.
Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum on Twitter thanked shopping mall giant Majid Al Futtaim for its commitment, adding that it would have priority in government contracts.
He said, according to Reuters: We have directed the government to give Majid Al Futtaim companies priority and priority in government contracts.
Majid Al Futtaim, which generated 15.6 billion dirhams ($4.25 billion) in revenue in the first half of the year, had earlier said it would employ 3,000 citizens. UAE over the next five years.
Alain Bejjani, CEO of Majid Al Futtaim Holding Company, said the UAE is full of promising and ambitious young people in all fields, and the responsibility to support and develop the skills of this generation of future builders It rests with us all.
The company said it has about 411 Emiratis out of the 13,700 employees it currently has in the UAE.
Majid Al Futtaim is one of the largest mall operators in the Middle East, also operating in Africa and Central Asia and in sectors such as hotels, real estate development and project management.
The government announced on Sunday that it will spend 24 billion dirhams ($6.5 billion) on benefits and incentives to attract 75,000 Emiratis to the private sector over the next five years.
Most Emiratis currently work in government positions where salaries, benefits, and working hours are often better than the private sector, which is mostly filled by foreigners.
