Dubai Chambers plans 50 international rep offices across 30 markets by 2030, says CEO Lootah

Dubai Chambers has opened six new international representative offices during the first half of 2023, and is looking to open another six by the end of this year, said Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, chief executive of Dubai Chamber.

The representative offices were opened in Hong Kong, Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, the UK, and South Africa, bringing the total number of overseas offices to 21.

Lootah said the opening of four new international representative offices in June by Dubai International Chamber, one of the three chambers under Dubai Chambers, sends a powerful message of confidence to the emirate’s business community.

He elaborated that under the “Dubai Global” initiative, Dubai International Chamber aims to establish a powerful global network of 50 representative offices to support the interests of Dubai-based companies across 30 priority markets by the end of the decade. “Our international offices serve as a gateway for Dubai companies to enter global markets and help attract foreign investments to the emirate across diverse sectors,” he added.

In a statement to Khaleej Times, Lootah added that the chambers’ offices in China attracted seven Chinese companies between January and April 2023 alone, including three multinational corporations and four small and medium enterprises.

He added that the number of Chinese companies registered as members of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce surpassed 8,100 by the end of May 2023. This figure is expected to rise further as Dubai Chambers intensifies its efforts to leverage the Chinese market, enhance the emirate’s competitiveness, and attract inward investments.

Lootah pointed out that the markets selected for new offices are chosen based on comprehensive studies on the opportunities available, with the goal of assisting Dubai companies to expand internationally and attracting foreign investments across multiple sectors.

“The primary objective of these offices is to attract multinational companies, SMEs, and digital startups from across the globe, together with specialised talents, capital, and innovators,” he explained, emphasising the key role the offices will play in boosting Dubai’s non-oil trade to Dh2 trillion by 2026 as part of the emirate’s five-year foreign trade plan.

The Chambers also coordinated more than 500 B2B meetings for participants in trade missions to Central Asia, London, and South Africa, he added.