Exports and re-exports by members of Dubai Chamber surged 7.8 per cent to Dh63.5 billion in the first quarter 2012 compared to the same 2011 period, signalling that the emirate’s economy “is firmly back in the saddle and ready to make giant strides,” a new report said.
Hamad Buamim, Director General of Dubai Chamber, said the first quarter results are quite encouraging and underscores the continued strength of Dubai’s economy and its position as a thriving investment destination.
Buamim praised the role of the trade sector, which is responsible for the overall growth of Dubai’s economy which “is supported by its strategic location, advanced infrastructure and financial facilities, unconditional Government support and a competitive and safe business environment.”
He stressed the chamber’s efforts in exploring new markets for its members and said the chamber is all set to send trade missions to the world’s promising markets including Surat in India and Ethiopia.
The chamber said its report that the value of March exports and re-exports of Dubai was Dh23 billion, up from February’s Dh17.6 billion.
In the first quarter, the chamber issued a total of 177,502 certificates of origin, which is an increase of 5.3 per cent, compared to the 168,558 issued during the first three months of 2011. January saw the most number of certificates issued at 60,558, while February recorded 57,330 issuances
The chamber said between January and March a total of 3,449 new members joined Dubai Chamber, which boosted the total number of members to over 131,900.
In the quarter, Dubai Chamber received 35 international delegations comprising 358 delegates. These groups came from Saudi Arabia, Japan, Germany, Sudan, Chile, Jordan, Egypt, Hungary, Turkey, Hong Kong, US, Tajikistan, Tunisia, China, Latvia, Portugal, Lebanon, UK, Australia, Ghana, Russia, Lithuania, Uruguay, Malaysia, Uganda, Norway, Iran and France.
The chamber participated in 16 events around the world, particularly in countries like Canada, US, Libya, Ethiopia, France, Tanzania, UK, Belgium and Oman to promote Dubai while also took an outbound delegation to the Consumer Electronics Show 2012 in Las Vegas.
The chamber received two high profile delegations headed by Abdulla Gul, Turkish President and Latvian Prime Minister Valdis Dombrovskis in the first quarter.
The total of business councils and business groups operating under the umbrella of Dubai Chamber rose to 66 with the joining of the Somali Business Council.
The chamber maintained its lead in the excellence programme by offering innovative services to its customers thus winning the Best Result in Customer Satisfaction award for the third year in a row at the Dubai Government Excellence Programme. Another initiative was to facilitate the growth of entrepreneurship. The chamber signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi for providing financial services facilities of up to $100 million to small and medium enterprises in the emirate. Under the MoU, the bank also offers assistance in managing and utilisation of finances, as well as business progress reviews to the representatives of SMEs.