(MENAFN- Emirates News Agency (WAM)) Jebel Ali Free Zone, Jafza, the flagship Free Zone of Dubai and trade and logistics hub for the wider Middle East region, has seen an increase of 17 % in the number of new companies in 2014 compared with the preceding year.
The Free Zone has also posted an impressive 10 % surge in its revenues for the year ended 31st December 2014. The operating profit of the company rose by more than 13% to AED1.18 billion during the year.
Salma Hareb, CEO of Jafza and Economic Zones World, said, "Jafza's impressive growth in 2014 can be attributed to its focus on attracting quality investments into the Free Zone in key sectors, prudent use of resources and achieving greater operational efficiency for itself and also for Jafza based companies by introducing new innovative products and initiatives.
Jafza has contributed more than 20% to Dubai's GDP in 2013. The Free Zone sustained more than 200,000 jobs in Dubai in 2014. The Free Zone companies account for almost half of Dubai's total non-oil exports and a quarter of the Emirates' total non-oil trade. In 2014, Jafza companies are estimated to have generated trade worth AED 370 billion. Jafza accounts for more than 75% of the total trade generated by all the free zones together in Dubai.
Asia Pacific continued to dominate Jafza's new investor profile in 2014 as 29 percent of the new companies came from Asia Pacific. Americas and Europe together accounted for 27 percent of the new investors in Jafza. In terms of individual countries 14% of the new companies came from India, 6% from China and 8% from the US and UK together.
Jafza continued to focus on promoting huge business opportunities that Dubai and the rapidly growing economies in the wider Middle East region offer to global investors interested in these hugely attractive markets.
Jafza conducted roadshows and business seminars in more than 14 countries with the aim to explore opportunities in prospective markets.
It signed four MoUs with various business development and financial institutions in Brazil, Japan and Germany, under the terms of which these institutions will highlight huge opportunities in the UAE and the wider Middle East region and Jafza's status as the trade and logistics hub for the entire region while showcasing the Free Zone's key offerings that enable Jafza based companies to serve all regional markets with unmatched efficiency.
Jafza remarkable growth over the years is attributed to its highly customer-focused approach. All its products, services and initiatives aim to create the best possible eco-system which would support and enable customers achieve continued growth.
Jafza organised five industry specific forums in 2014 which covered FMCG, Food, Healthcare, automotive, electronics and oil and gas sectors.
In terms of new products, Jafza, in 2014, announced the development of a specialised "Halal Zone" to serve multi-billion Halal Products market in the region and globally. The move aims to position Dubai as a "Global Hub for Halal Products".
Jafza plans to develop Halal Zone as all-inclusive hub, supported with world-class infrastructure, perfectly suited to attract leading enterprises in the entire gamut of Halal industry. Halal Zone will integrate a one-stop-shop system to service each and every need of customers in the Halal supply chain, offering ease of doing business.
Jafza will collaborate and attract organisations, associations, accreditation bodies, R&D, as well as advisory firms to support the entire Halal value chain right from R&D, product development to sourcing, production, certification, logistics, sales and marketing.
Multi-phased Jafza Halal Zone Development Plan will also identify laws, regulations, and licencing needs of the Zone and draft laws and regulations accordingly. It will also setup the internal processes and systems to automate different processes.
The Halal Zone will be opening huge opportunities for not only Jafza's existing client base but also new investors who are looking for more possibilities in the region.
Jafza's other customer-focused initiative in 2014 included creating a platform for Free Zone companies to list on Nasdaq Dubai to raise capital through the equity market to fund their growth.
In 2014, Jafza successfully implemented Business Continuity Management System, BCMS, which complies with ISO 22301:2012 standards. The initiative helped Jafza identify critical business processes, services, critical processing periods and contractual and service level commitments. The Free Zone has developed Business Continuity strategies and recovery plans for individual processes across the organisation. The overall programme had three phases: Business Impact Analysis and Risk Evaluation, Continuity/Recovery Plan Development, and establishing Readiness Procedures. BCMS ensures uninterrupted operation of critical services of Jafza.
BCMS minimises the risks of interruption to business operations during a disaster and enables the organisation to recover quickly and effectively with minimal interruptions.
On the infrastructure enhancement side, Jafza completed its high profile Gate 4 and roundabout 6 project in 2014. The new Gate 4 has 8-lane entry and 8-lane exit to facilitate smooth passage. Roundabout 6 is now replaced by a flyover that facilitates seamless traffic flow direct from the container terminal to Jafza customers and major exit gates. The flyover serves both passenger and freight movement. The internal road network facilitates connections to other parts of the Free Zone, which were being served by Roundabout 6.
Other infrastructural projects currently underway in the free zone include Jafza One-the Convention Centre complex, LIU 10 (Light Industrial Unit) project, new road infrastructure in Jafza South and several access gate projects for heavy vehicles and light vehicles in Jafza South and North. The first phase of the Jafza One project was completed in 2014.
As a responsible corporate entity Jafza has taken several social, environmental and fitness related initiatives. Social initiatives included events like Thank You Khalifa, Labour Day event, Ramadan campaign, Flag Day and UAE National Day. Jafza Environmental initiatives in 2014 included Car-Free Day, Earth Hour, Earth Day, World Environment Day, as well as E-Waste Recycling campaigns. Fitness related initiatives included several campaigns like Quit Smoking, World Diabetes Day, Healthy Heart € Healthy Life campaigns, Breast Cancer Awareness programme and Blood Donation camps. Jafza has donated more than AED7.2 million to various social welfare projects such as Water Aid Project, Dubai Cares, Dubai Club for the Disabled and Clean up Arabia campaigns, as well as to Charity Auctions in aid of Syrian Refugees.
Jafza won several prestigious awards in 2014 for its distinctive achievements. UK based Financial Times' fDi magazine awarded Jafza the Global Free Zone of the Year 2014 for Large Companies. They had recognised Jafza € Free Zone of the Year 2014 € Large Tenants € Middle East and North Africa"and also Jafza € Free Zone of the Year 2014 € Large Tenant € UAE, earlier in the year. Also in 2914, Jafza won the prestigious Sheikh Khalifa Excellence Award € Diamond Category.
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