Dubai – Mubasher: Dubai free zones witnessed a 22% year-on-year growth in trade for the first nine months of 2018, data showed.
Free zone trade made up 41% of Dubai’s total trade from January to September worth as much as AED 394 billion ($107 billion), according to the Dubai Free Zones Council.
“Free zones are important economic hubs and centres of foreign direct investment that are poised for growth and expansion in the years ahead,” Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed, chairman of the Dubai Free Zones Council, said.
China ranked the first place as Dubai’s most significant free-trade partner with a total trade of AED 59 billion during the nine-month period ended September, followed by Saudi Arabia with AED 34.2 billion and India with AED 34 billion.
Moreover, trading volume in Dubai free zones represented 31.9% of the emirate’s gross domestic product (GDP), as imports hit AED 215 billion, while exports and re-exports amounted to AED 179 billion.
“Dubai’s economy relies on the free zones’ efforts to diversify the national economy and expand non-oil business in line with the Dubai Plan 2021, which aims to elevate the emirate’s global status and establish it as a major contributor to the global economy,” bin Saeed added.
He noted that the increase in free-zone trade comes due to promotional efforts that aim at attracting more foreign direct investment (FDI) to Dubai.
