Business & Money | Wednesday 27 July, 2016 6:26 am |

This year, Dubai maintained its attractiveness to global investors as in the first half of 2016, over 8,000 new companies joined the membership of Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry bringing its total membership to 193,000 with a 4.3% growth. This new addition takes the non-profit business organisation membership closer to 200,000 while enhancing the Chamber’s reputation as one of the largest chambers of commerce in the world.

 

According to a recent report on its half-year activities, while the Chamber’s membership maintained a pace of sustained growth, its members’ total exports and re-exports reached AED 138 billion with Saudi Arabia ranking as the top-most destination with members’ exports and re-exports in the region at AED 44 billion.

 

Also, the Chamber registered a growth of 2% in the issuance of certificates of origin in the first half of this year totalling more than 478,000, compared to 469,000 COOs issued during the same period last year.

 

H.E. Hamad Buamim, President and CEO, Dubai Chamber, stated that Dubai’s economy has once again showed its resilience in facing the adversities of global economic challenges while sustaining its trade sector which has time and again proved its competitiveness on a global level.

“The emirate’s capability in reducing the effects of the global economic slowdown comes from its competence based on the economic diversity and the UAE's strategy to move away from oil resources which actually complements the vision of the country’s wise leadership in creating a competitive economic order,” said H.E. Buamim.

 

The President and CEO of Dubai Chamber further added that the Chamber’s future strategies are based on the wise vision of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, as the Chamber is implementing innovative initiatives to strengthen Dubai’s position as an attractive global business destination.

 

He also said that the Chamber is putting the finishing touches to this year’s launch of its new strategy for 2016-2021 in line with the Dubai Plan 2021, to enhance the emirate’s lucrative business environment and the competitiveness of its businesses in the overseas markets.

 

H.E. Buamim lauded the Chamber’s efforts exerted in the past months to promote its members’ presence in the emerging markets of the world by opening international offices, while launching smart services and innovation strategies as well as organising several important global economic conferences and forums which he said contribute to increasing the competitiveness of Dubai businesses in the overseas markets while also boosting the strength of companies operating in Dubai.

 

He also said that the Chamber has issued 125 ATA Carnets for the temporary import of goods during the first half of this year, adding that this service demonstrates the emirate’s leadership in facilitating global trade, while supporting MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions) sector in Dubai, especially with Dubai recently maintaining its 14th position among the world’s top destinations for business events affirmed by the Union of International Associations (UIA) in its international meetings statistics.

 

H.E. Buamim added that in the first half of this year Dubai Chamber as part of its efforts to stimulate private sector growth in the emirate, received 308 international delegations from 67 countries totalling over 519 government officials and businessmen, while the Chamber’s five international offices held 202 meetings with potential investors.

 

Settling trade disputes 

 

In light of the rising importance of settling commercial disputes amicably in the emirate, Dubai Chamber received a total of 516 arbitration and mediation cases in the first half of the year. The organisation’s initiative Dubai International Arbitration Centre (DIAC), received 115 arbitration cases in comparison to the 97 cases received during the same period last year, while Dubai Chamber’s Legal Services department received 401 mediation cases compared to 301 received in the same period last year.

 

Studying economic laws

 

As part of its commitment to create a favourable business environment and to support business growth, Dubai Chamber studied, reviewed and followed up on 26 federal and local legislations and draft laws, while sending its recommendations to the Government of Dubai Department of Legal Affairs and to the concerned authorities, notably the draft federal law regulating the mining activities and the protection of mineral resources in the UAE, a draft federal law on financial leasing contracts, draft by-law on environmental protection and development, cabinet resolution regulating the use of coal as a solid fuel, draft law concerning civil establishments in the emirate of Dubai, and the draft unified law and its by-laws for food safety for  GCC countries.

 

Customer service 

Dubai Chamber, while endeavouring to move towards smart services and to provide the highest quality of customer service under the ongoing strategy to attract larger foreign investments to Dubai while promoting the emirate as a major global destination for trade and finance, served 194,000 customers particularly as the organisation won the top spot for Customer Happiness at the Dubai Government Excellence Program award ceremony held this year in the emirate.

 

International Offices

 

In the first half of this year, Dubai Chamber opened its new international office in the Mozambican capital, Maputo, bringing the number to 5 international offices, as all these offices held 202 meetings and nine events with companies and investors looking to enter the Dubai market or access for Dubai businesses to the markets where these offices operate from.

 

Promoting Dubai

 

The Dubai Association Centre (DAC), granted 23 licences for the establishment of global professional associations in the emirate. The Centre’s aim is to highlight Dubai’s position as a strategic hub of trade and finance supported by a stimulating investment environment and modern infrastructural facilities for global associations to make their base in the region.

 

The Centre, which was established in the beginning of 2014 under a Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dubai Business Events (DBE, part of the Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing) and the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), allows a formal environment where international non-profit, scientific and professional associations can form a membership-based community and open a regional representative office to conduct business in the UAE and the wider Middle East region.

 

Supporting SMEs

Dubai Chamber’s Tejar Dubai initiative, an entrepreneurship development programme that aims to help young Emiratis turn their business ideas into realities, launched four commercial projects in the first half of the year taking the number to 20 projects launched thus far.

 

Also, the Chamber concluded the Dubai Smartpreneur Competition organised in cooperation with the Smart Dubai Office with the aim to strengthen the role of entrepreneurs in transforming Dubai into a "smart city." In this first successful session of the competition, Dubai Chamber received 350 innovative ideas and is currently preparing to launch the second session of the competition.

 

The Chamber in collaboration with IBM also launched the ‘Dubai Digital Entrepreneurship Hub’, an online community that will support Dubai’s technology and start-up ecosystem while accelerating innovation and stimulating the local economy under the umbrella of Smart Dubai initiative

 

This new launch follows Dubai Chamber’s earlier Smart Business application, the E-COO for issuing Electronic Certificates of Origin, Africa Gateway Smart Application, and Smart Mediation application which is the first-of-its-kind in the region providing all legal services on a single smart platform as well as the Human Capital Management (HCM) smart app which provides HR services to Chamber employees quickly at the click of a button from their hand-held devices. 

 

All the apps are part of the Chamber’s efforts to build a fully-integrated mobile community and to help members do business with ease as well as to promote the concept of smart business amongst the business community in line with Dubai’s vision to transform the emirate into a smart city.

 

Chamber’s CSR activities

 

Dubai Chamber’s Centre for Responsible Business continued to play its important role in instilling a culture of responsible business in the UAE by launching various CSR, corporate governance and sustainability projects and organised 16 events to assist members of the business community to apply responsible business practices that enhance their performance and competitiveness. The Centre’s events were participated by 1,370 individuals and company representatives. Its Give and Gain day had the participation of 768 volunteers while it provided 1,200 advisory hours to 106 companies participating in the CSR label programme as the Centre’s Sustainability Network membership reached 65 in the first half of the year.

 

 

Events organised

 

Trade mission to South Africa and Mozambique

 

During the first half of this year, Dubai Chamber concluded a trade mission to South Africa and Mozambique on the sidelines of the opening of its 5th international office in Maputo, Mozambique. The trade mission brought together business leaders and investors from public and private sectors as well as local chambers of commerce in South Africa and Mozambique to discuss stronger bilateral ties and future investment cooperation.

 

 

World Retail Congress

 

The Dubai Chamber-organised 10th World Retail Congress was held for the first time in the region and outside of Europe with the participation of over 1,400 top local and international retail personalities. The success of the congress led to the announcement of hosting the 11th session in Dubai next year.

 

CIS Global Business Forum 

 

As part of its Global Business Forum series, Dubai Chamber organised the first session of the Commonwealth of Independent States Global Business Forum (CIS-GBF) which was attended by over 1,000 participants from 50 countries from CIS, the Gulf and other global countries and provided an ideal platform for holding more than 100 bilateral meetings to discuss and promote investment opportunities between businessmen, investors and companies from the two regions.

 

Dubai Hamburg Business Forum

 

The Chamber also organised the 5th session of the Dubai Hamburg Business Forum entitled “The Internet of Things: Innovation to Connect” in cooperation with the Hamburg Chamber of Commerce. The forum opened up new horizons for fruitful cooperation and joint ventures in various important economic sectors for the business communities of Dubai and Hamburg. Both chambers also signed a MoU to advance the process of innovation and the introduction of advanced technologies and the Internet of Things in the business sector.

 

UAE-Mexico Business Forum 

 

Dubai Chamber organised the UAE-Mexico Business Forum in partnership with the Mexico Embassy in the UAE and ProMexico on the sidelines of the Mexican president and his accompanying delegation's visit to the country, as according to its goal the forum promoted investment opportunities between the UAE and Mexico.