The Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority (Dafza) witnessed a 23 per cent increase in the number of Indian companies operating within the free zone during 2015.
Official statistics reveal that India came first in the list of Dafza investors by country last year, accounting for 38 per cent of total Asia Pacific investments. The investments of Indian companies, 45 per cent of which are multinationals, focus on the electronics and communications sector which ranked first at 25 per cent, the computer, internet and IT solutions sector second at 14 per cent, and jewellery, watches and precious stones third at 9 per cent. Indian human resources comprise around 34 per cent of Dafza’s total workforce and of the regional, international and multinational companies working in the free zone.
“Dafza seeks to deliver an integrated portfolio of facilities to encourage the participation of Indian companies in the UAE’s ongoing development and investment projects which attracted Indian investments of Dh59 billion ($16.06 billion) over the past year,” it said in a statement.
Last year, Oommen Chandy, chief minister of Kerala state visited Dafza to discuss the possibility of establishing a new free trade zone in the city of Kochi that would reflect the administrative, logistical and knowledge excellence of Dafza as one of the most advanced free zones in the world.
In 2015, efforts were focused on conducting a series of informative seminars in the Indian city of Mumbai as part of the free zone’s international promotional tours. This year, it is looking to expand these interactive activities to achieve more positive results, especially in terms of strengthening channels of knowledge transfer and exchange of experiences with entrepreneurs and investors in India.
“The positive India-related results achieved by Dafza in 2015 confirm the high confidence of the Indian investment community in the free zone and its continuous work towards creating an attractive investment environment based on the highest standards of excellence, innovation and technological progress,” said the Dafza statement.
