Jafz Gets 300 New Investors

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Total number of firms in free zone exceeded 7,000 for first time

Nearly 300 local and foreign investors joined Jebel Ali Free Zone in the first half of 2013 to push the total number of companies operating in the region’s largest free zone to more than 7,000 for the first time, an official was quoted on Sunday as saying.

Jebel Ali, served by the world’s largest man-made port, had around 6,750 companies at the end of 2012, making it’s the largest free zone in the oil-rich Gulf.

“The zone attracted around 300 new companies in the first half of 2013 to push their total number above 7,000 for the first time,” the zone’s deputy CEO Ibrahim Al Janahi said, quoted by the semi-official daily Al Ittihad.

“This shows that the zone has become a key base for non-oil trade and business in the region besides its role as one of the wheels of the UAE economy.”

He said commercial dealings by registered firms exceeded Dh300 billion in 2012, more than 25 per cent of Dubai’s total non-hydrocarbon trade.

His figures showed around 17 per cent of the companies operating in Jebel Ali are involved in the production of machinery and equipment, 10 per cent in electronics, nine per cent in general trade and seven per cent chemicals and petroleum products.

Source: emirates247.com