The United Arab Emirates launched on Tuesday a new "Golden Card" system dedicated to foreign investors after they invested a combined 100 billion dirhams ($27 billion) in the Gulf state. "We launched a new Golden Card system to grant permanent residency to investors and exceptional doctors, engineers, scientists and artists," Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai and the vice president and prime minister of the UAE, said in a tweet. "The first batch of 6,800 investors with 100 billion dirhams worth of investments will be granted the Golden Card." "The permanent residency Golden Card will be granted to exceptional talents and everyone who positively contributes to the success story of the UAE," Sheikh Mohammed added. Foreigners account for 90 percent of the population of around nine million in the UAE, the Arab worlds second-largest economy which has seen rapid development in recent years.