A record high for Dubai Chamber members' exports and re-exports in 2011

posted on 23/01/2012: 39 views

Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry members' exports and re-exports in 2011 made a record for achieving the highest figures in its history of operations. It also proved that the trade sector is once again the frontrunner of Dubai's economic growth.

The Annual Report 2011 released by Dubai Chamber yesterday indicates that the total value of its members' exports and re-exports last year was Dh246 billion which is 14.5% higher compared to the 2010 level reflecting the importance of trade in the economic growth of Dubai.

Also, the 2011 figures are higher than the peak period of economic boom of 2008 which was Dh213 billion. Meanwhile, the monthly exports and re-exports of its members in May 2011 was the highest with Dh22.1 billion while the figures in February were the lowest with Dh17.6 billion.

The annual data on number of certificates of origin (COs) issued totalling 698,067, showed an increase of 8.3% compared to 644,809 COs issued in 2010. Again the highest monthly COs issuance was in October 2011, which numbered 62,726 and the lowest was in February and totalled 50,612 COs.

Hamad Buamim, Director General, Dubai Chamber, pointed out that despite the global uncertainty in light of the European debt crisis and a weak US economy and instability in the region, Dubai's economy is on track. "The annual report clearly demonstrates the resilience of Dubai's traders in turning the tide in their favour thanks to the lessons learnt from the global financial crisis as they used their experience and flexibility to global trading by switching between destinations and products. Dubai's business community also explored new markets and export destinations in Africa, Eastern Europe and Latin America thus achieving unprecedented export figures in Dubai Chamber's history of operations," he said.

The Director General of Dubai Chamber lauded the excellent performance of the trade sector as he said that 2011 was a historically successful year for the trade sector which has established its position as key driver of the emirate's economic growth. The trade sector, along with tourism, logistics and financial services, once again played a major role in the overall health of Dubai's economy and directly supported the emirate's role in consolidating its status as a favourite global investment destination in the region and a gateway to the neighbouring GCC countries, he said.

Buamim further stressed that the coming on board of 10,092 new members for Dubai Chamber last year, which took the total membership to over 128,000 with a percentage increase of 8.5%, also points towards the economic growth which Dubai has witnessed last year. It also reaffirms the trust of foreign investors in the sound economy of Dubai which has a strong backing from His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai.

He stated that despite the political unrest across the Middle East and North Africa region, Dubai continues to be a safe and stable place to do business. The city, backed by its astute government policies, world-class infrastructure and financial services as well as business-friendly laws, continues to offer a solid platform for international investors to do business here and work towards their own as well as the emirate's economic growth in the coming years.

Summing up the achievements of the year, Buamim informed that on its part Dubai Chamber focused not just on the quantity of growth but also on the quality of growth by exploring new products and export markets, as well as business opportunities for trade and investment in Africa, East Asia and Latin America.

Buamim also highlighted the enhanced role played by Dubai Chamber to support the development of business and to promote Dubai as an international business hub, while he also reaffirmed his organisation's commitment to provide assistance and facilities to the private sector by launching initiatives that will enhance the competitiveness of Dubai businesses in the global market.

The successful hosting of international events like the 4th Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Investment Forum and the 3rd Dubai Hamburg Business Forum are good examples of supporting the development of business in the emirate while promoting Dubai as an increasingly attractive place for global trade, Buamim said.

He also added that Dubai Chamber will focus on opening up new markets under the directives and recommendations of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed, as Dubai Chamber is all set to send trade missions to countries and cities like Ethiopia, China and the city of Surat, which is India's diamond hub.

The Annual Report 2011 indicates that as part of its mission to represent, support and protect the interests of the business community, Dubai Chamber voiced the concerns of the private sector to the relevant Government authorities by suggesting changes in the visa rules and the companies and other related laws which Dubai Chamber has been studying and reviewing over the years.

The challenges faced by the business community enticed Dubai Chamber to come up with new initiatives and to focus more sharply on its role as a business facilitator, adviser and mediator. As a business facilitator, Dubai Chamber continued to offer value-added services to its stakeholders by updating and strengthening its online services. The launch of the ATA Carnet in April was the most significant new service, as Dubai Chamber issued 39 ATA Carnets for goods and commodities worth Dh133 million while the country received 570 ATA Carnets for goods valued at Dh600 million in 2011.

As part of its efforts to provide policy advocacy services to its members and in line with its objective to create a favourable business environment, a special Dubai Chamber committee worked through 2011 to review 26 federal and local draft laws and legislations covering local, Gulf and international conventions. The outcome of the comparative studies including the Companies Law 2011 was sent to the concerned government authorities.

Some of the reviewed draft laws and regulations included organising the legal profession, organising the economic activities in Dubai, regulating partnership between the public and private sectors in the emirate, GCC Uniform Law/Rules pertaining to anti-commercial fraud and the first draft of the Convention on Cooperation in the Field of Maritime Transport between Arab Countries were also studied and reviewed.

Dubai Chamber hosted 187 visiting trade delegations in 2011 comprising of over 1,093 businessman, government officials and senior trade leaders, registering an increase of 25.6% in the number of foreign delegates in comparison to 870 delegates received in 2010. Meanwhile, Dubai Chamber sent out outbound missions to 36 cities in 29 countries, and participated in 41 business events abroad and organised four quarterly business councils and business groups' roundtable discussions in addition to organising 156 business matching meetings in Dubai.

Dubai Chamber received 878 mediation cases in 2011 and launched a new service to assist Dubai companies with the drafting of commercial contracts.

On its part, the Dubai International Arbitration Centre received 440 cases in 2011 compared to the 431 cases of 2010 as the Centre also worked towards raising the awareness of the importance of arbitration and mediation in the settlement of commercial disputes regionally and globally.

Dubai Chamber's highest profile event, the 4th Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) Investment Forum, organised for the first time in the region under the patronage of H.H. Sheikh Mohammed, was attended by over 2,000 delegates and explored business opportunities within the 19 countries that make up the COMESA region, particularly in trade, agriculture and infrastructure development sectors, and promoted Dubai's position as a strategic gateway into and out of these emerging markets.

The Dubai Chamber-organised 3rd Dubai Hamburg Business Forum was yet another successful session as it brought together a high level delegation of business leaders from Hamburg to meet with their Dubai counterparts to discuss four key sectors of finance, maritime, logistics and green technologies. The event also served as an ideal platform for businesses from both the vibrant cities to strengthen their trade ties.

The Chamber also launched its signature event, the third round of the Dubai Business Gala 2011 which paid tributes to Dubai's trading history and was attended by over 1,000 members of the diplomatic corps and the business community. The gala dinner was a cultural treat for the attendees and succeeded in enhancing the reputation of Dubai as a global business and finance destination.

Dubai Chamber launched the sixth round of the prestigious Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award organised under the patronage His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. The award this time has expanded its scope to include businesses in all sectors - type and size - to participate and stand to be recognised as organisations with exceptional performance strategies.

Dubai Chamber's Centre for Responsible Business launched a new service called CSR Toolkits which provides support to companies wanting to adopt more corporate social responsibility and sustainability schemes. It also organised the Dubai Dialogue: Corporate Governance Conference and the second Sustainability Network CEO CSR Seminar thus maintaining its lead in advocating and exemplifying responsible business practices in Dubai.

On its part, Dubai Chamber introduced a number of new services and initiatives to help businesses from a cross-section of economic sectors to achieve success. It introduced the Pulse medical insurance scheme, which provides a health insurance package to members at a reasonable cost, and also launched the Diplomatic Circle Dinner, the Dubai Chamber Ramadan Festival, and a range of social networking events including the Culinary Mixer, Bowling Challenge, Ambassador's Cup golfing event, and the Go Carting Challenge.

With its focus on exploring new markets, Dubai Chamber organised the quarterly Country Focus Briefings putting the spotlight on Turkey, Brazil, Ethiopia, Australia and the Netherlands and also held its popular networking meetings with business groups and councils and the Talk Business at Breakfast initiative aimed at bridging the gap between the public and private sectors. This event brought the private sector face to face with top officials from RTA, Dubai Courts and Dubai Police.

Three new business councils including the Bangladesh, Algerian and Belgian as well as three business groups, Dubai Shipping Agents Association, International Special Events Society and the Retail Business Group were set up by Dubai Chamber to help support their respective countries and sectors to expand the scope of their business activities. With these new entrants the strength of the business groups went up to 25 and the councils to 40.

Keeping the business community updated on the market trends, Dubai Chamber also organised four quarterly economic seminars that offered insights and expertise to the business community to enhance their performance and competitiveness in the business world.

For the second consecutive year Dubai Chamber received two Dubai Government Excellence Program (DGEP) awards for Best Customer Satisfaction and Best Staff Satisfaction in the DGEP's 14-year history. It also won the prestigious Big Project and BGreen Award for best 'Retrofit Project of the Year' and the Best CSR Initiative - Public Sector at the 8th IIRME CSR award. - Emirates News Agency, WAM

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