Interview: Dubai hopes to scale up business ties with China -- officials

DUBAI, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- Senior officials from the Emirate of Dubai have expressed interest in stepping up business and investment ties with China.

Officials from Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy and the Dubai Future District Fund told Xinhua at Expand North Star, part of the Gulf Information Technology Exhibition (GITEX GLOBAL), that the emirate is committed to further strengthening economic cooperation with China.

Running on Oct. 13-17 at the Dubai World Trade Centre, GITEX GLOBAL is one of the world's largest tech, AI and startup shows.

MORE BUSINESS EXPECTED

"I want to see more collaboration between Dubai and its Chinese counterparts. There's a lot more business to be done, and we look forward to it," Nader AlBastaki, Director of the Dubai Future District Fund (DFDF), told Xinhua.

"We would like to see more Chinese companies scale up out of the UAE. And vice versa, we also want to take corporates and government organizations to the large Chinese market and help them flourish over there," the director said.

Anchored by the Dubai International Financial Center, a special economic zone in Dubai, and the Dubai Future Foundation, a Dubai government entity focused on shaping the city's future by leveraging technology, innovation and foresight, the Dubai Future District Fund invests in funds and alongside them to support promising ventures, to strengthen venture capital investing in the zone.

According to its website, its current fund size is 1 billion AED (272.3 million U.S. dollars), with 16 direct startup investments and 12 fund of fund investments.

"We primarily look at early stage and early growth portfolio companies and sector-specific funds that enable the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33) strategy. These are funds that enable property technology, health and life sciences, mobility, logistics, AI and the circular economy as a whole," AlBastaki said.

D33 Dubai refers to a 10-year plan launched in 2023 to double the city's GDP to 32 trillion AED (8.7 trillion U.S. dollars) by 2033, aiming to boost the economy, increase foreign trade, strengthen Dubai's position as a global business hub, and promote sustainable growth through 100 transformational projects.

"We're seeing a lot of Chinese companies bringing their intellectual property here, establishing themselves here, and creating relationships with the world from Dubai," AlBastaki said.

TRADING PARTNERS

China is one of the largest trading partners and "we see that partnership, that collaboration and trade expanding," Saeed Al Gergawi, vice president of the Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, one of three entities operating under Dubai Chambers, told Xinhua.

"Within Dubai Chambers, we have three offices in China: in Shenzhen, Shanghai and Hong Kong, " he said.

"In particular, we see Chinese companies diversifying into different markets and using Dubai, not only as a test bed for their technologies and services, but as a gateway to Africa, the rest of the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Indian subcontinent," he added.

"Dubai plays into the strategy that the Chinese have in terms of expanding globally and finding a partner that can help them expand," Al Gergawi stressed.

Dubai Chambers, which represents the interests of the Emirate of Dubai's business community, is the umbrella organization of Dubai Chamber of Commerce, Dubai International Chamber, and Dubai Chamber of Digital Economy, with its mission to empower the local business community, build and reinforce international partnerships, and accelerate the growth of the digital economy to cement the emirate's position as a leading global hub for business, trade and investments.

"Our focus is on expanding the digital economy here in Dubai, becoming an advocate for investors, for startups and scale-ups, and ultimately to bridge what's happening in the digital economy, AI, fintech, and between the private and the public sector," Al Gergawi said.

"A lot of our work is on supporting these companies and onboarding them into Dubai, finding partners and investors here in the UAE and then ultimately using Dubai as a launch pad for their growth and service global markets," he said. ■