abccphotogallery

Dubai Airport Freezone Seminar

A seminar introducing the advantages of setting up operations in the Dubai Airport Freezone was held at the premises of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce on 10 June.

In the light of the recent rebranding of the Dubai Airport Freezone product, the zone’s Director of Marketing Ibrahim Ahli visited the Chamber to highlight the range of facilities and incentives on offer to companies wishing to set up business operations in the Gulf.
The seminar provided an opportunity for ABCC members and UK company representatives to explore the opportunities in the Gulf market more generally using the airport freezone as a base. In total, over 1,400 companies have been attracted to the freezone.
From its prime and accessible location on the boundary of the Dubai International Airport, the freezone was now an established centre for re-exports to the Gulf and the wider regional markets providing access to 2.5 billion consumers.
Chairing the session, Qais Hamza, ABCC consultant, pointed out that the UAE was now the largest market in the Gulf for UK exports, and was worth some £3.7 billion with the vast majority going to Dubai and the Northern Emirates.

In his presentation Ibrahim Ahli described the increasingly diverse nature of the UAE economy and the growing importance of the non-oil sector.
Although 2008 was a tough year for the global economy, the Gulf still provided one of the few bright spots. The UAE economy remained strong with real GDP growth in currently at 7%. Dubai still had a booming and diversifying economy offering significant opportunities for business.
Increasingly investors from the around the world, the UK included, were looking to the UAE for new business and market opportunities, Mr Ahli said.
Some 140 British companies were presently located in the freezone, which illustrates the ongoing level of interest from the UK in Dubai, still one of the fastest growing cities in the world.