UAE ranked world’s top in digital trade readiness

The UAE has been named the world’s most advanced market for digital trade readiness, according to Standard Chartered’s latest “Future of Trade: Digitisation” report — a distinction that reflects the country’s rapid acceleration in digital infrastructure, regulatory innovation and corporate adoption of advanced technologies.

- Issac John [e-mail]

Digital asset adoption is already at 68 per cent among UAE corporates, one of the highest levels recorded globally. — FILE PHOTO

(FILE PHOTO)

The study, which surveyed 1,200 multinationals across 17 global markets, positions the UAE at the forefront of the shift to smarter, faster and more resilient cross-border trade.

While cloud computing remains the strongest catalyst for transformation — identified as essential by an extraordinary ninety-seven per cent of UAE corporates — the country is also emerging as a global leader in areas such as digital assets, blockchain-enabled settlement frameworks and tokenised trade instruments.

Digital asset adoption is already at 68 per cent among UAE corporates, one of the highest levels recorded globally, reflecting the country’s early embrace of blockchain in supply chain visibility, invoice verification and trade finance. Augmented and virtual reality capabilities have reached forty-three per cent adoption, while artificial intelligence sits at 36 per cent, signalling growing maturity in the use of immersive technologies and intelligent automation across logistics, procurement, customer engagement and risk management.

Some 96 per cent of businesses surveyed expressed strong support for more Digital Economy Agreements to harmonise cross-border digital standards, reinforcing the UAE’s position as a champion of rules-based, technology-enabled trade flows.