India tops DAFZA’s investor countries

Saturday 13 February 2016

Dubai - MENA Herald: DAFZA witnessed an impressive increase of 23 per cent in the number of Indian companies operating within the Freezone during 2015. Official statistics reveal that India came first in the list of DAFZA investors by country last year, accounting for 38 per cent of total Asia Pacific investments. The investments of Indian companies, 45 per cent of which are multinational companies, focus on the Electronics and Communications sector which ranked first at 25 per cent, the Computer, Internet and IT solutions sector came second at 14 per cent followed by Jewelry, Watches and Precious Stones at 9 per cent. Indian human resources comprise around 34 per cent of DAZFA’s total workforce and of the regional, international and multinational companies working in the free zone.
DAFZA revealed that it will continue developing investment incentives and applying international best practices, adopting the latest innovative technologies and providing integrated infrastructure to attract more Indian investments in line with its tireless efforts to contribute to further enhancing the strong economic, trade and investment ties between India and the UAE. DAFZA seeks to deliver an integrated portfolio of facilities to encourage the participation of Indian companies in the UAE's ongoing development and investment projects which attracted Indian investments of AED 59 billion over the past year.
The Freezone has also reaffirmed its commitment to providing the necessary means to activate the contribution of Indian investments in ambitious projects within Dubai’s main economic sectors. This will drive national economic growth forward and reinforce the historic ties between India and the UAE. DAFZA has led the way in terms of opening up new channels of mutual cooperation with the Indian business community. Last year, Oommen Chandy, Chief Minister of Government, Kerala State visited DAFZA to discuss the possibility of establishing a new free trade zone in the city of Kochi that would reflect the administrative, logistical and knowledge excellence of DAFZA as one of the most advanced free zones in the world.
In 2015, efforts were focused on conducting a series of informative seminars in the Indian city of Mumbai as part of the international promotional tours organized by DAFZA to attract investors from major global economic markets. This year, DAFZA is looking to expand these interactive activities to achieve more positive results, especially in terms of strengthening the channels of knowledge transfer and exchange of experiences with entrepreneurs and investors in India.
The positive India-related results achieved by DAFZA in 2015 confirm the high confidence of the Indian investment community in the Freezone and its continuous work to create an attractive investment environment based on the highest standards of excellence, innovation and technological progress which support the aspirations of Indian companies seeking to take advantage of the most promising opportunities in Dubai and the Middle East.
It is worth mentioning that there are a number of prominent Indian companies with a presence in DAFZA, including Tata Group, Kalyan Jewellers, Himalaya, “HCL Infosystems Ltd., Tech Mahindra, and Wipro.

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