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Revenue from sales and the number of registered companies at the Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA) have increased in the first half of 2021.
The free zone achieved growth in new sales revenues with an increase of 8.3 percent, which resulted from the rise of 24 percent in the leased areas compared to the same period last year.
There has been an increase in the number of registered companies by 88.4 percent compared to the same period in 2020, thanks to the new set of economic incentives and packages to attract new investors.
The free zone recorded an increase in the number of small and medium companies by 96.4 percent compared to the same period last year, according to a statement from DAFZA.
Dr. Mohammed Al Zarooni, Director General of DAFZA, said: "The free zone also plays a key role in supporting the direction of the UAE and the emirate of Dubai in economic diversification, as DAFZA supports more than 1,800 companies across more than 20 economic sectors.”
“DAFZA’s flexibility of its business environment and continuous effort to support the operations of companies is delivered through providing various incentives that enable businesses to achieve strategic objectives across different markets,” he added.
Contribution to trade
DAFZA’s total trade reached more than $39 billion in Q1 2021, with an increase of 4.7 percent compared to the same period in 2020.
The free zone also achieved a trade surplus of 2.44 billion dirhams. As a result, DAFZA’s contribution to Dubai’s trade accounted for 11 percent during the first quarter of 2021, in which it maintained the same level in the first quarter of 2020.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of DAFZA, said: “The emirate will be hosting the upcoming major global event Expo 2020, which will shed light on the exceptional experience led by the UAE and the emirate of Dubai in directing and attracting investments and creating opportunities.”
“This means the coming phase will be a promising period of recovery that will positively reflect on our economy and the other neighboring markets,” he added.
In terms of goods, the group of machinery, television, and electrical equipment and pearls, semi-precious stones, and metals accounted for 94 percent of DAFZA's trade. The first group achieved high growth of 32.4 percent in the first quarter of 2021, where the value of the group's imports amounted to 14.1 billion dirhams and the importance of exports 15.7 billion dirhams.
China was DAFZA’s biggest trade partner, which accounted for 31 percent of the free zone's trade in the first quarter of this year. It witnessed a high growth of 56.4 percent compared to the same period, and its imports amounted to 64 percent.
(Writing by Seban Scaria; editing by Daniel Luiz)
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© ZAWYA 2021
