Exports and re-exports of Dubai Chamber of Commerce member companies rose more than 20 per cent annually in the first eight months of the year.
This came as the emirate's economy continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic.
Total exports and re-exports of member companies during the January-August period surged to Dh177 billion ($48.19bn), Dubai Chamber said on Monday.
“The growth reflects the positive impact of Dubai Chamber's specialised approach to supporting member companies with global expansion and improving ease of doing business in Dubai,” Abdulaziz Al Ghurair, chairman of Dubai Chambers, said.
“Such efforts enhanced Dubai Chamber's ability to serve the business community and identify attractive trade opportunities that offer the potential for member companies.”
Dubai's economy, which made a strong rebound last year from the coronavirus-induced slowdown, has carried the growth momentum into this year. This has been supported by the resurgent travel and tourism sector and a rapidly improving property market.
The emirate's economy grew by 6.2 per cent in 2021, preliminary data from the Dubai Statistics Centre showed. In the first three months of this year, Dubai's gross domestic product expanded by 5.9 per cent, according to government data.
Business activity in Dubai's non-oil private sector economy last month climbed to a 38-month high as demand growth strengthened and input costs fell at record pace. The emirate's headline, seasonally adjusted S&P Global purchasing managers' index rose to 57.9 in August, from 56.4 in July, its highest reading since June 2019.
The number of certificates of origin issued by the Dubai Chamber in the first eight months of the year climbed by 9.8 per cent to reach 476,000, it said.
A certificate of origin is a document declaring in which country a commodity or good was manufactured, online financial encyclopedia Investopedia says. It has details about the goods, its destination and the country of export.
Electronic transactions, meanwhile, rose by 12.7 per cent annually to more than 642,000 as Dubai Chamber continues to focus on the digital transformation of its core services.
"The positive momentum would continue as Dubai Chamber makes headway on meeting the objectives outlined under its 2022-2024 strategy, while it continues to launch strategic initiatives to enhance economic competitiveness, attract promising businesses to Dubai and expand the emirate’s trade ties with high-potential markets," Mr Al Ghurair said.
More than 27,100 companies joined the chamber in the first eight months of the year, marking a 69 per cent annual increase. The total membership by the end of August stood at 314,000, the chamber said.
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The National photo project
Chris Whiteoak, a photographer at The National, spent months taking some of Jacqui Allan's props around the UAE, positioning them perfectly in front of some of the country's most recognisable landmarks. He placed a pirate on Kite Beach, in front of the Burj Al Arab, the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland at the Burj Khalifa, and brought one of Allan's snails (Freddie, which represents her grandfather) to the Dubai Frame. In Abu Dhabi, a dinosaur went to Al Ain's Jebel Hafeet. And a flamingo was taken all the way to the Hatta Mountains. This special project suitably brings to life the quirky nature of Allan's prop shop (and Allan herself!).
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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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