More Chinese companies welcome as Dubai free trade zone grows

DMCC, an entity owned by the Dubai government which runs the DMCC Free Zone in Dubai, expects to ride the huge opportunities created by the Belt and Road Initiative and to collaborate more with China.

“The Belt and Road Initiative has developed much faster than we expected,” said Gautam Sashittal, chief executive officer of DMCC. “The initiative will continue to create many opportunities … for all of us.”

So far, more than 300 Chinese companies have established their presence in Dubai’s free trade zone, including industry leaders such as Hisense, China Petroleum and Chemical Corp, China Harbour Engineering Co and Power Construction Corp of China.

The registration of Chinese companies in the DMCC Free Zone, which has over 15,100 members, has been rising at an average annual rate of 46 percent over the past five years up to May of 2018.

“Chinese companies are great assets for us, but compared with China’s population, the number still has big potential to grow,” Sashittal said.

On Thursday, DMCC signed a memorandum of understanding with China Council for the Promotion of International Trade for further collaboration.

Last year, DMCC’s Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange was the first foreign exchange to list Shanghai Gold Futures outside of China.

DMCC has been listed as the world’s top free trade zone by fDi magazine under the Financial Times for the last three years.