Dubai Chamber sees 48% increase in number of visiting delegates
Chamber’s mid-year report also shows AED 90 billion rise in the volume of exports
A mid-year report released by Dubai Chamber of Commerce & Industry showed a marked increase of 48% in the number of visiting delegates during the first six months of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008, which is a clear indication of Dubai still being a preferred business destination in the region.
According to the report, Dubai Chamber received 128 global trade delegations comprising 1,293 businessmen in the first six months of the year in comparison to 86 delegations that included 999 businessmen during the same period in 2008, which is a clear increase of 48% in the number of delegates, and 29% in the number of business visitors. From the months of January to April this year the number of visiting trade delegations averaged 24 per month, while in the month of June at least 10 delegations visited the Chamber.
The data also revealed that the number of Certificates of Origin issued by Dubai Chamber until the end of June showed a slight decrease of 4% over the same period in 2008. The number of certificates issued to exporters until June 2009 was 44,000 in contrast to the 54,000 export certificates of origin issued in the same period last year.
The volume of exports of the members of Dubai Chamber in the first half of 2009 was about AED 90.3 billion, which is a slide of 16% compared to the same period in 2008. The month of June registered the largest proportion in the volume of exports, amounting to AED 17 billion which was higher than the month of February which saw the least percentage of exports totaling
AED 14.4 billion, which points towards the expected improvement in the coming months.
HE Eng Hamad Buamim, Director General, Dubai Chamber, pointed out that the decline in trade volume this year compared to the same period last year has come from the global economic crisis which had its impact on the prices of oil and raw material especially in the wake of the year 2008 that witnessed an extraordinary boom unprecedented at all levels of trade and economic development.
Buamim stressed that if you compare the volume of exports of the members of Dubai Chamber in the first half of 2009 with that of the volume of exports in the first half of 2007, it clearly shows an increase of 19% which augurs well for the emirate’s trade scenario.
In the first half of the year, 4,289 new members joined Dubai Chamber which is a 37% decline from the same period last year, but the rate of renewal of membership increased by 12% from the year 2008, bringing the number of members of Dubai Chamber currently to 106,000. The month of March had 812 new members joining the Chamber while the month of May saw a still lower figure of some 623 new members.
The Dubai International Arbitration Center, one of the Chamber’s initiatives, received 157 new cases in the first half of 2009 which is a record in itself if you compare the 40 cases received during the same period in 2008 indicating an increase of 298%. In May, the Center received the largest number of cases reaching 41, while February recorded the least number of 10 cases received by the Center.
Meanwhile, the Legal Services department in the Chamber received 523 cases in the first half of 2009 compared to 252 cases in the same period in 2008 which is an increase of 108%. The Department had received 112 cases in May 2009 compared to the 30 cases registered in the month of January 2009 which was the lowest in recent times.
According to Buamim, the exports and re-exports sectors are behind the
the commercial traffic seen in Dubai. He added: "In line with its strategic
mission and objectives of supporting the business community, Dubai Chamber, during the first half of 2009, has adopted several new initiatives including the launching of a SME Exporter of the Quarter award honouring the best export performance of its members from the small and medium-sized enterprises besides hosting the quarterly business breakfast, which is considered an important platform for public and private sectors to communicate and exchange ideas and concerns."
The Director General of Dubai Chamber also highlighted the Chamber’s mission of offering better services and its contribution in creating a stimulating business environment in the emirate, besides supporting business growth and the overall promotion of Dubai as a global trading hub.
During the early part of the year, Dubai Chamber hosted a major ICC Banking Commission Conference entitled ‘2009 – Crossroads for Trade and Technology’, with its challenging agenda of finalising the latest revision of the international rules for demand guarantees known as the URDG. This global banker’s event was attended by representatives of World Trade Organisation and ICC Banking Commission who discussed the challenges facing the global financial markets and the impact of the crisis on trade finance in the world.
In April this year, Dubai Chamber hosted the fourth session of the Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award in the presence of HH Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, and a number of sheikhs, ministers and businessmen honouring 18 companies and organizations in the categories of Finance, Manufacturing, Construction, Real Estate Development, Re-export and Corporate Social Responsibility, Supply Chain and Logistics.
Dubai Chamber in association with Georgetown University Washington DC, hosted an economic forum titled, ‘The Gulf Region in the Global Economic Crisis: Force for Stability’ which was attended by HH Sheikh Nahayan bin Mubarak Al Nahayan, UAE Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, while a Chamber delegation attended the Investment Promotion Forum organized by Japan Corporation Center for Middle East (JCCME) in Tokyo and Osaka where they introduced investment opportunities and the
business climate in the Emirate to Japanese businessmen.
Dubai Chamber hosted the UAE-Vietnam Business Forum’s networking luncheon in honour of HE Nguyen Tan Dung, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam and his large ministerial and business delegation in the presence of HE Reem Al Hashimi, UAE Minister of State, in addition to organizing a business networking meeting for its business groups and councils on the sidelines of the Arabian Travel Market as well as launched the quarterly business breakfast, which brings Government officials and members of the private sectors face to face to communicate and exchange issues concerning the business community.
The Chamber organised two economic seminars in the first two quarters of this year, covering Dubai Traders Outlook for 2009, Export Performance of Dubai Chamber members and the Competitiveness of Dubai exports in the world market focusing on economic situation and data recovery. The Chamber also organised conferences and workshops including a seminar on Dubai Responsible Business, and a conference on Alternate Dispute Resolution (ADR) practices in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice and the Dubai International Arbitration Center, a session on copyright and related rights, a symposium on the protection of consumers from counterfeiting, and a workshop to discuss trade laws in the UAE.
As part of its strategy of promoting Dubai as an international business hub, Dubai Chamber participated in the 6th World Chambers Congress held in Malaysia and attended by more than 100 chambers of commerce from the world over and also bided for hosting the Congress in Dubai in 2013. The Chamber, in association with World Chambers Federation, also launched the Arabic version of the certificates of origin, to encourage all parties to the issuance of certificates of origin according to global standards.
Dubai Chamber won several awards during the first half of 2009 including the first place in Kuwait’s HH Sheikh Salem Al Ali Al Sabah Informatics Award for best website in the region as well as the Green Buildings Category of the
Dubai Environment, Health and Safety (EHS) award from Trakhees-Ports, Customs & Free Zone Corporation (PCFC). Its human resources executive director Azzah Al Sharhan, received the HR Director of the year 2008 award at the GCC HR Excellence Award.
Dubai Chamber also organized a number of periodic business networking
meetings with its business groups and councils to enhance the channels of communication between the business communities representing various countries of the world and also launched the initiative of the monthly surveys of corporate executive leadership of the private sector, where recommendations of companies concerning their economic sectors are collected and passed on to the relevant Government authorities for consideration.
