Al Banna speaks at conference on Trade, Treasury and Cash Management in the Middle East

Held under the patronage of H.E Dr. Mohammed Khalfan Bin Khirbash, Minister of State for Finance and Industry, UAE, it's organized by Euro Finance Conferences.

"Dubai's vision is to attain the status of a developed economy by the year 2010 based on the strength of its non-oil economy, excellent business environment and economic leadership" commented Mr. Al Banna in his presentation. He added "Education, capital markets and legal system are the foundation of Dubai's future growth".

Mr. Al Banna highlighted that Dubai's oil GDP according to 2002 figures, only represents 7% of the total GDP, where the other 93% is divided amongst trade which makes up 63%, industry and services which account equally to 18% each, and agriculture representing only 1% of Dubai's total non-oil GDP.

On foreign direct investment, the Deputy Director General of DCCI mentioned that the stock of foreign direct investment in the UAE, most of which is in Dubai, was US$ 1.413 billion in 2002 compared to US$ 1.318 in 2001, highlighting that its expected to rise further in the near future. He added that Dubai's stock exchange has 13 companies and two bonds listed, and market capitalization is about AED 50 billion. Mr. Al Banna said that with the aim to consolidate the market size, the authorities are working towards merging the stock exchanges of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Mr. Al Banna also addressed the tax and customs policy in Dubai, mentioning that customs duties on most imports to Dubai are levied at the rate of 5%, and exports are exempted from duties. He also specified that goods imported and intended for re-export often benefit from exemptions of customs duties as do the imports of machinery, raw materials and spare parts for industrial purposes.

In his presentation, Mr. Al Banna also addressed the investment facilities provided in Dubai, focusing on the industrial areas, the Dubai investment park which covers 3,180 hectares, free zones which are 8 in number, Dubai's financial market, and the Dubai development and investment authority.

The other areas covered by Mr. Al Banna, were the Dubai International Financial Centre launched in Feb 2002, the laws under enactment by the centre, banking, finance and investment companies in Dubai, and why Dubai can be a regional treasury centre highlighting its strategic market location, excellent facilities, friendly business environment and liberal economic policy and leadership which prevail in the UAE in general and Dubai in particular.

The objective of this conference is to help businessmen make the right decisions when choosing the location of their business, business partners and the best way to do business, so Mr. Al Banna's thorough presentation was very well received by the many businessmen and perspective investors interested in Dubai as the future location for their business interests.