Italian and Turkish companies eye Dubai Airport Freezone for operations

Dubai Airport Freezone holds seminars in Istanbul and Milan to attract significant investments from both countries

Dubai Airport Freezone, one of the world's most modern free zones, has recently organized two seminars in each of Istanbul and Milan. During the events, advantages of the immense commercial opportunities in the UAE were revealed for investors in order to enjoy an exponential growth utilizing from the suitable location in the center of Dubai and closer to the international Airport.

Mr. Ibrahim Ahli, Director of Marketing in Dubai Airport Freezone, attended the seminars and presented an update on the services provided in the freezone, its future expansion plans, and the advantage of setting up a business in Dubai Airport Freezone. The seminars have also enabled the potential investors to assess the new investment opportunities that are available in the freezone.

Mr. Ahli explained the current strength of Dubai’s economy and the UAE as a whole, by pointing to the great performance of this area over the past few years.

Dubai has become a vital trade centre for all the companies that look forward to work in the Gulf region as it ensures safety, security, stability & transparency in laws and legislation. As a reason, companies were attracted to Dubai Airport Freezone for the import duties, tax exemptions and investments’ incentives. As a matter of fact, this area has its unique position as the only freezone located near the international airport, which attracts all the companies working in the export and re-export trade using the air freight services.

“The Dubai Airport Freezone’s contribution to Dubai’s GDP was 2.2% in 2009 and is expected to grow this year witnessing an increase in the registered companies and the additional investments by major international enterprises seeking a foothold in the Middle East, Asia and Africa. It’s also beneficial to mention that 90% of Dubai’s GDP was non-oil”, said Mr. Ahli during the seminars.

Dubai Airport Freezone registered a robust growth of 55% in new investments in the first quarter this year compared to same period of 2009.

“Over 1,450 international companies currently operate at the freezone. In terms of the investments in this area, 38% was from Europe and 37% from the Middle East and GCC,” stated Mr. Ahli. “The business investment sector represented 62% of total activities of the Freezone, followed by the services sector at 36%, and then the industrial sector.”

Mr. Ahli pointed out that Dubai Airport Freezone won several international awards for its level of services & performance. Its commitment to quality is recognized by worldwide ISO certificates for Quality, Environment, Health & Safety and Information Security Management System, as well as Complaints Handling System. In addition to various regional and international awards, Dubai Airport Freezone ranked 2nd in the world and 1st in the Middle East by Financial Times fDi Magazine’s global ranking of free zones in June 2010. It was in a competition with more than 200 free zones all over the world participating in the survey, which is considered as a standard scale for the industry.