Dubai World comes to China quake victims' aid

Over the past six weeks, Dubai World has moved to help relieve the suffering of those impacted by the tragedy.

The holding company, which has a strong presence in China, made the contribution through its subsidiaries DP World, Limitless and Istithmar World.

Realising the magnitude of the tragedy that struck, Dubai World immediately joined the massive international effort to support the victims.

The donations were made mainly via Qingdao Civil Administration and Qingdao Charity Association. Employees at all levels joined the management in contributing to the humanitarian effort.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Dubai World Chairman, said: 'The donation is an expression of our heartfelt concern for the victims of this natural calamity. As a company that runs operations all over the world, Dubai World pursues a policy of supporting the communities in which it operates. We contribute to their economic growth and we also share their anguish at times when tragedies such as this strike.

'China is one of Dubai's biggest trading partners and one of Dubai World's strongest investment bases. Our partnership with China goes beyond economic interests.'

Istithmar World, the investment arm of Dubai World, is active in China through its private equity and alternative investments division Istithmar World Capital.

Limitless, the global master development arm of Dubai World, sees China as a strategic market and has offices in Shanghai.

Dubai World also operates five marine terminals through its flagship marine terminal operator DP World. The Qingdao terminal is one of DP

World's 13 new developments worldwide. The Qingdao port complements DP World's existing presence in the Bohai Basin ports of Tianjin and Yantai.

DP World also has interests in logistics businesses, notably ATL in Hong Kong, which is the market leading logistics operator.

Dubai and China enjoy very healthy trade ties, which have been increasing steadily over the past five years.

According to Dubai World Statistics Department studies, bilateral trade soared to a 47% high in 2007.

The figures showed that there was an increase in non-oil trade between the two countries from Dhs48.4bn (around $13.18bn) in 2006 to Dhs71.2bn (around $19.4bn) in 2007.