Focus Dubai

The Arab-British Chamber of Commerce hosted a business briefing on the latest developments in Dubai, the second largest emirate in the UAE and its economic vision for the future.

The event was co-organised with the Government of Dubai Department of Tourism and Commerce Marketing whose Marketing Manager Fayha Sultan gave the main presentation.
The seminar was honoured with the presence of H E Abdulrahman Ghanem Almutaiwee, the UAE Ambassador to the UK.
A large number of UK business executives and investors attended the event to learn about the latest investment opportunities offered by Dubai as it continues to strengthen and diversify its economy.
Chairing the seminar, Abdeslam El-Idrissi, Director of Trade Services at the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce, began with a brief overview during which he reminded everyone of the major achievements undertaken by the emirate.
dubai

HE Abdulrahman Ghanem Almutaiwee and Speakers

Dubai’s inspirational vision was influential right across the globe and its high level of services and infrastructure were continuing to attract the greatest talent from all over the world.
In the aftermath of the recent global financial downturn, Dubai continues to be a place where people increasing numbers wanted to live, work and learn.
“Dubai thinks big”, Mr El-Idrissi stated, pointing to its record beating projects such as the world’s tallest building and largest airport currently under construction.
Historically, Dubai has always thrived as a major trading hub bridging East and West.
Delegates to the seminar were given an insight into why Dubai continued to be the location of choice for an increasing number of companies seeking to launch business in the Gulf and further afield in the Asian and African markets.
dubai

Dubai was home to over 30 free zones each designed to offer companies in specific sectors with all the services and facilities they required to conduct success business.  
Fayha Sultan stressed that Dubai had a diverse economy and was about far more than the construction sector, whose fortunes had been hitting the news headlines recently.
She praised to creativity of the leadership of Dubai and the positive attitude that prevailed among the business community in the emirate.
Partnership between the public and private sectors had been a key to Dubai’s record of success over the years.
In particular, Dubai offered many opportunities for SMEs operating in a diverse range of sector activities, with the re-export trade being especially significant.
Ms Sultan described Dubai’s economy as 96% non-oil based with 74% based on services. Its GDP was $52.2 billion in 2009.
She listed Dubai’s recent successes including the opening on schedule of the Dubai Metro in 2009, the ongoing work on the new airport which will open for cargo in June as scheduled.  In addition, Jebel Ali Free Zone had recently celebrated in 25 years.
Businesses were advised that future projects worth looking at were emerging in sectors like health, education, financial services, tourism and retail as Dubai continued to pursue its diversification strategy.
Retail was important given that the emirate boasted over 25 major malls and that malls represented the real “street life” of Dubai, Fayha Sultan said.

     
Tourism was also an important contributor to the economy, it had risen 5% already this year and Dubai had set itself an ambitious target of attracting 15 million tourists by 2015.
The next speaker, Phil Dowrick, Gulf business specialist with UKTI, said that he had been visiting Dubai for over 20 years and had witnessed its remarkable transformation during these decades.
He said that the population growth was a key driver of the economy and identified education, healthcare, transport, energy and utilities as the sectors that offered the most opportunities for doing business as Dubai invested to create more jobs and diversify its economy.
He expressed the hope that more UK firms would be able to take advantages of the emerging opportunities in Dubai and advised companies seeking inroads into the market to make use of the services provided by the British Business Group in the UAE and the UKTI.
Mr Dowrick said the key message was that Dubai remained open for business.
Oliver Cornock, the Regional Editor of Oxford Business Group, provided an overview of the Dubai economy in the global context and examined recent trends.
He said that despite the impact of the downturn on the construction market in particular, Dubai was a dynamic city where business goes on.

Although lavish properties remained central to Dubai’s image, property was not its only asset, Mr Cornock stated, echoing the references made by previous speakers to the developments in tourism, healthcare, financial services and transport.
Ammar Shams, Head of Business Development, HSBC Bank Middle East, said that he was proud to be from Dubai and was equally proud of Dubai’s record of achievement in emerging as a great metropolitan centre within just a generation.
Mr Shams spoke about the role of the HSBC in Dubai since 1946 and looked at the various services that banks can provide to support businesses and trade in the region.
The final speaker, David Church, International Development Partner with law firm DLA Piper, outlined the basic legal requirements for doing business in Dubai, explaining the various options open to companies seeking to set up operations.
The presentations were followed by questions from the audience after which the formal proceedings concluded with a networking reception.