Dubai Chamber April Report reveals;
increase in mediation cases and delegation visits
a slight decrease in export and Certificates of Origin
Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry’s monthly report revealed that the volume of exports of its members in April touched AED 15 billion which is 2.5% lower than the month of March but higher by 5% than February 2009 figures. The report showed that the volume of exports of members during the first four months of this year stood at AED 59.1 billion which is 15% less compared to the same period in 2008, which is due to the global decrease in the prices of goods and commodities.
The total number of Certificates of Origin issued during the first four months of 2009 stood at 194,000, which is 7% less from the same period of 2008 while the total number of Certificates of Origin released in April was 50,000 compared to 53,000 in March and 46,000 in February this year.
During the month of April, 647 new members joined Dubai Chamber compared to 812 in March and 743 in February as the number of new members registered during the first four months reached 3000. The month saw an increase of 13% in the renewal of membership that went up to 7,052 in comparison to April last year. The total number of membership renewal during the first four months of 2009 stood at 26,000 which is an increase of 13% in comparison to the same period in 2008.
The Dubai International Arbitration Center received 40 cases of trade disputes during April in comparison to the 20 cases the Center received during the month of March taking the total for the first four months this year to 80 cases which is a 182% increase from the 28 cases of 2008.
In the month of April, the Legal Services Department received 156 cases out of the 322 cases received in the first four months of the year which is a 80% increase from the 182 cases of the same period in 2008.
Dubai Chamber received 24 delegations during April this year that included 293 businessmen and trade officials, compared to 16 delegations with 248 participants in April 2008 and 20 delegations in March 2009. In all, the number of delegations that visited the Chamber during the first four months of this year was 102 with 1,179 businessmen compared to 63 delegations and 704 businessmen in the same period of 2008, which is an increase of 26% and 65% respectively in the number of visiting delegations and businessmen.
The Chamber organised meetings with its Iraqi, American, Spanish and Syrian Business Councils and participated in the business lunch of the Advertisers Business Group and received a high-level delegation from the UK including eight MPs as the two sides discussed economic cooperation between Dubai and the United Kingdom. The Chairperson of the Dubai Businesswomen Council met with the President of the Businesswomen of the Uruguay Chamber of Commerce and Industry to discuss joint cooperation.
April’s highlight was the Chamber’s fourth session of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award which was attended by HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, and a number of Sheikhs, Ministers and businessmen as the 2008 Awards honoured 18 Companies and firms, under the categories of Finance, Manufacturing Construction, Real Estate Development and Re-export and the new categories of Corporate Social Responsibility and Supply Chain & Logistics.
it is worth mentioning that Dubai Chamber won the first place for the development of best website in the region at Kuwait’s HH Sheikh Salem Al Ali Al Sabah Informatics Contest 2009, while its Center for Responsible Business organized the first Dubai Responsible Business Dialogue 2009 conference and a seminar on Sustainable Human Resources Management with participation from the public and private sectors.
