Its a shame....Indian Passport Ranked 48 Out of 50 Most Powerful Travel Document: Survey

LONDON:  The Indian passport has been ranked 48th in a list of 50 most powerful travel document in the world, according to a global survey topped by Sweden.

Germany-based Go Euro travel comparison website ranked the top 50 countries of the world based on their passport's eligibility for visa-free entry, cost of application as well as number of hours worked to acquire the document.

India, which came towards the bottom of the ranking, offered visa-free entry to 52 countries and cost 24 dollars and 87 hours of working time.

Sweden topped the chart with 174 visa-free countries, costing 43 dollars and just one hour of working time.

Finland, Germany, the UK and US completed the top 5 with 174 visa-free countries all round.

"As any avid traveller knows, passports are the key to adventures.

"Passports are the ultimate 'don't leave home without it' item, but the nationality on one's passport can have a major effect on travel plans and time abroad," Go Euro said in a statement.

Iraq and Afghanistan were ranked the least useful nationalities for passports with Pakistan not even making to the top 50.

UAE drafts law for 100% foreign ownership of firms

The UAE is at an advanced stage of drafting a foreign investment law that would allow 100 percent foreign ownership of businesses in some sectors, the economy minister said on Monday.

Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansouri, speaking at an international investment conference in Dubai, did not specify the sectors or say when the law might be passed. The process of drafting and enacting major laws in the UAE often takes years.

But the initiative may mark a more aggressive push by the Arab world's second biggest economy to attract investment. At present, foreigners generally cannot own more than 49 percent of any UAE firm unless it is incorporated in a special "free zone".

A new companies law, anticipated to take effect within months, was originally expected to relax this restriction, but that reform was dropped because of strong opposition from some Emiratis who feared they could lose out to foreigners.

Mansouri said on Monday, however, that the UAE was determined to diversify its economy beyond oil and saw foreign investment as a key way to do this.

"Economies face pressures from changes in the international environment, including the drop of the oil price," he said.

While Mansouri did not say how the new foreign investment law would work, it may require fully foreign-owned firms to transfer technology in sectors that are strategically important for the UAE. Officials have previously said they are keen to attract technology for industries such as aerospace.

New foreign direct investment (FDI) in the UAE rose 25 percent to $13 billion in 2014, Mansouri said, adding that the government aimed to raise FDI to 5 percent of gross domestic product in coming years. GDP was AED1.540 trillion ($420 billion) last year, he said.

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