The majority of UAE investors (70 percent) believe Joe Biden will be the next US leader, ousting president Donald Trump from the White House.

Among those surveyed in the Emirates by global wealth manager UBS, 64 percent said they were ‘highly interested’ in the presidential election, and 70 percent said they expect Biden to win.

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region, is the most exposed to the election outcome, according to UBS, and new energy policies will play a key role for the region, whatever the outcome.

“Despite the fact that the US’s dependence on energy imports is declining, the energy policies of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and other GCC countries are of world-wide relevance as they have a huge impact on gIobaI energy prices,” the advisor said in a press release.

In its September ElectionWatch report, UBS said the US government’s shift towards greener energy policies is likely to happen faster if Joe Biden is elected.

“The relevance for the Middle East is negative but might be mitigated by the effect on the US shale industry,” said the report.

The energy price trajectory would be more favourable under a Trump presidency than under Biden, the report continued, but the structural trend towards a more sustainable energy mix is unlikely to change.

“Reforms that aim to reduce the reliance of economic growth on fossil fuel exports should therefore remain at the very top of the agenda of policymakers in the Middle East, irrespective of who wins in the US in November,” the report said.

(Reporting by Imogen Lillywhite; editing by Seban Scaria)

imogen.lillywhite@refintiv.com

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