Dubai economy proves resilience again

Dubai - Chamber members' trade at Dh286b as 16,000 new entities join in 2015

Dubai's economy emerged resilient during 2015 despite the global challenges created by the drop in oil prices, the economic uncertainties in Europe, China and Russia, and weak global demand for commodities.
This was stated by Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry president and chief executive officer Hamad Buamim during an annual briefing to select media persons.
Explaining the reason for resilience, Buamim mentioned that it is due to the emirate's diversified economy, which greatly minimised the impact of the global slowdown's negative effects on its various economic sectors.
Dubai's economy achieved positive results in the areas of aviation, air cargo and tourism, which have grown over the past year, while trading activities remained stable despite the challenges, Buamim explained.
Last year, the Dubai Chamber witnessed more than 1,330 new members on average every month. The emirate reinforced its attractiveness to global investors with the addition of over 16,000 new companies joining the membership of Dubai Chamber and taking the organisation's total membership to 185,000.
This 9.5 per cent rise in membership enhances the Dubai Chamber's position as one of the largest membership-based chambers of commerce in the world.
The members' contribution is reflected in their annual exports and re-exports figures which valued at Dh286 billion in 2015 with Saudi Arabia emerging as the top-most destination for the members' exports and re-exports amounting to Dh105.7 billion, or 37 per cent of the total in 2015, while the Dubai Chamber registered a five per cent growth in the number of certificates of origin issued during the past year, totalling 930,000 compared to 887,000 COs issued in 2014.
He said that the UAE has diversified its economy by strengthening the non-oil sectors with a continued focus on trade, tourism, logistics and hospitality, as well as to innovate new sectors which can serve as the pillars of the future growth of the economy while pursuing innovative solutions to move forward in the process of growth and development of the emirate.
"This year, the Dubai Chamber will continue its efforts to support the economic vision of the government and do its bit to promote the interests of the business community by exploring new markets, and identifying opportunities for trade and investment," he said, adding: "We will also be continuing with our Global Business Forum series on Africa and Central Asia while focusing on two new regions - the CIS and Latin America."
He also said that as part of its strategic objectives to support the development of business and promote the emirate as an international business hub, the Dubai Chamber is committed to provide all the support and facilities to the private sector by launching initiatives that will enhance Dubai businesses' competitiveness including the Dubai Innovation Index, which is in line with Dubai Plan 2021, aimed at making the emirate the first place in the ease of doing business and a favourite destination for investment.
On the growth in issuance of ATA Carnets by the Dubai Chamber, Buamim said that the organisation registered a 41.6 per cent rise in the issuance of permission for temporary import of goods as it issued 194 ATA Carnets last year.
He also said that as part of its participation in overseas events, the Dubai Chamber last year participated in 66 events in 38 cities in 30 countries while the Chamber received 673 delegations from 69 countries.
Settling of trade disputes
Playing its leading role of settling commercial disputes amicably in the emirate, the Dubai International Arbitration Centre, a Dubai Chamber initiative, received 183 arbitration cases in comparison to the 174 cases received during the same period in 2014 while the Dubai Chamber's Legal Services Department received 555 mediation cases, which together amounted to 738 cases received by the Dubai Chamber.
Studying draft laws
As part of its commitment to support business growth, the Dubai Chamber studied, reviewed and followed up on 42 federal and local legislations and draft laws, with a growth of 100 per cent in the number of laws and regulations that were reviewed, sending its recommendations to the Supreme Legislation Committee in the emirate and to the concerned authorities.
Excellence in customer service
The Dubai Chamber last year served 330,000 customers compared to 315,000 in the same period in 2014 when 66 per cent of customer transactions were completed in less than six minutes, which complements the Dubai Chamber's efforts in providing the highest standards of customer service as part of its ongoing strategy to attract more foreign investments to Dubai, while enhancing the emirate's status as a major destination for trade and finance in the world.
- abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com