DMCC, a leading free zone in Dubai, said on Monday that it accounts for 15 per cent of all foreign direct investment (FDI) in the emirate, up from 11 per cent last year, and 7.0 per cent of the emirate’s GDP estimated at Dh430 billion in 2023.
“Now accounting for 15 per cent of Dubai’s FDI, our performance in the first half of 2024 demonstrates both the consistently strong investment growth across our district as well as the continued appeal of Dubai as a major global trade hub,” said Ahmed bin Sulayem, executive chairman and CEO of DMCC.
He said as DMCC approaches 25,000 member companies, the free zone will continue to accelerate this growth through “a curated services offering and commercial space that matches business needs to reality.”
According to UN Trade & Development, global FDI flows in 2023, at an estimated $1.37 trillion, showed an increase of 3.0 per cent over 2022. Yet, excluding a few large European deals, global FDI flows were 18 per cent lower. In line with global FDI flows, Dubai attracted an estimated Dh39.26 in total FDI capital during 2023.
Dubai’s GDP exceeded Dh115 billion in the first quarter of 2024 with its economy growing 3.2 per cent compared to the same 2023 period. Dubai, which has been consistently reinforcing its position as the world’s leading hub for FDI, has set into motion an FDI Development Programme, which aims to attract Dh650 billion in investments to the emirate by 2033 through earmarking Dh25 billion over 10 years in support of Dubai’s plans.
According to ‘Dubai FDI Monitor’ data, the emirate recorded a total of 1,650 announced FDI projects in 2023, a strong growth of 39% compared to the 1,188 FDI projects in 2022.
In a statement, DMCC said the overall growth of its business district was spearheaded by strong results across several sectors. This was particularly the case for technology, where DMCC registered 226 new companies, including 14 gaming and nine AI companies.
The DMCC Crypto Centre onboarded 64 new companies, including seven Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP), meaning its membership grew by over 11 per cent in the year to date. Meanwhile, 159 energy companies joined DMCC in H1 2024, taking the total across its energy ecosystem to over 3,260 – DMCC’s largest for a single industry.
DMCC also added 140 companies from the financial sector, a rise of 8.5 per cent in the year to date. Solid numbers were also noted in agriculture, precious stones, and precious metals. DMCC continues to see a balanced growth trajectory across its physical commodities and services ecosystems.
DMCC is preparing for the imminent launch of its new AI Centre. Located in Uptown Tower, the AI Centre is anticipated to be the next leading innovation platform for advancing AI adoption and developing real life use cases.
Despite downward pressures on global diamond prices, the UAE recorded significant rises in diamond trade volumes in the first half of the year via DMCC’s Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE).
For natural diamonds, over 113 million carats of rough and 6.3 million carats of polished were traded for a combined total of 119.4 per cent rise in combined rough and polished diamond trade by volume year-on-year.