Jafza reports 10% growth in the number of Indian companies

Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), the flagship free zone entity of Dubai and a renowned trade and logistics hub for the wider Middle East region spanning from West Asia, the CIS, Africa and Indian Subcontinent, has conducted a highly successful 4-day roadshow, which also included an exclusive investor seminar, in Mumbai in India to attract more Indian multinationals into the Free Zone.

Jafza is currently home to over 800 leading Indian companies who are serving all key markets in the region from their regional base in the Free Zone. The number of Indian companies in the Free Zone in 2014 posted a growth of 10%.

During the Roadshow Jafza highlighted huge opportunities in the rapidly growing markets in the Middle East to Indian investors, which they can capitalize on, from being in Jafza, efficiently.

Jafza team at the India roadshow, led by Ibrahim Mohamed Al Janahi, Deputy CEO of Jafza and Chief Commercial Officer of Economic Zones World, the parent company of the Free Zone, included senior officials from sales, marketing and communications departments, Mr. Bharat Bhatia, CEO of Jafza-based leading steel company and Mr. Kulwant Singh, President of India Business Council in Dubai.

HE Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Chairman of DP World and Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation, commenting on Jafza Roadshow in India, said:

“UAE and India enjoy a very strong bond of friendship which is founded on centuries old cultural and economic interaction between the two regions. The evolution of Dubai as a regional trading hub in 1990s provided a major boost to bilateral trade relations between India and the UAE. Today India is UAE’s largest trading partner. Jafza, which is home to more than 800 top India multinationals, has played a key role in strengthening trade relations between the two countries. The Jafza roadshow in India seeks to attract more leading Indian companies to the Free Zone, which will, eventually, further enhance bilateral relations between the two countries.”

Commenting on the opportunities for Indian investors Bin Sulayem further said:

“Most of the countries in the Middle East region are currently focused on diversifying their economies in order to reduce their dependence on oil. These countries are estimated to be spending more than USD 4 trillion in developing economic infrastructure suitable for nurturing non-oil business activities. The investment will not only boost construction and engineering but all other economic sectors right from food & beverage, healthcare, education, transport, communication, hospitality and everything in between.

“Expo 2020, the world’s third largest global event after Olympic and the World Cup in Dubai, will provide further boost to infrastructure related activities in Dubai and other emirates in the UAE, as well as, neighboring countries who will be benefitted from over 25 million overseas visitors that are expected to visit Dubai during the 6-month show. This unveils huge opportunities for Indian investors, which must be capitalized on.”

Ibrahim Mohamed Al Janahi speaking at the Business Seminar held at Hotel Trident on the 2nd day of the roadshow emphasized on the need to further strengthen Indian presence in Jafza in order for them to take advantage of huge growth opportunities in the region.

He said: “The paradigm shift in outlook and priorities in oil-rich Middle Eastern countries has opened huge opportunities for Indian multinationals in the region, which must be taken advantage of. I invite Indian multinationals to leverage Jafza facilities to capitalize on long-term growth opportunities in these rapidly expanding Middle Eastern markets.”

The Jafza Business Seminar attracted 80 top Indian companies who were keen to join Jafza in order to expand their footprint in the Middle East.

Khalid Al Marzooqi, Senior Manager, Asia-Pacific in his presentation at the seminar talked about Jafza’s key offerings that have made the Free Zone trade and logistics hub of the region.

Kulwant Singh, President of Indian Business Council in Dubai, in his speech focused on robust India-UAE relations. He attributed remarkable growth in India –UAE trade to the ease of doing business in Dubai as well as in Jafza.

Bharat Bhatia, CEO of Conares in his speech talked about his company’s remarkable growth over the years.

The seminar concluded with an extensive Q&A session where Jafza officials answered all investor queries.

Jafza officials met 20 top Indian business executives at an exclusive dinner meeting to apprise them the huge opportunities for Indian market leaders in the Middle East.

India is Jafza’s one of top trading partners. Jafza hosts a large number of leading Indian multinationals in diverse sectors who have established their regional headquarters in Jafza to serve markets in West Asia including GCC, the CIS and Africa. Jafza-India non-oil trade has tripled in the last ten years to reach almost USD 4 billion in 2014.

During the 4-day roadshow Jafza officials had several scheduled meetings with Indian businesses.

Jafza expects to attract a significant number of new Indian companies from the roadshow.