Dubai Chamber is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, highlighting the success achieved by Dubai over the past decades. The last five decades has been a period of extraordinary achievements for both Dubai as well as Dubai Chamber. Here are some of the most notable of these achievements:
1965-1975
The story began in July 1, 1965, when the late Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum founded the Dubai Chamber with just 10 employees and 450 members, compared to more 170,000 members today.
Immediately after its formation, Dubai Chamber became the main engine of trade growth in the emirate of Dubai, studying laws and regulations on commercial and economic matters as well as coming up with recommendations to improve government functioning at all levels. From the very beginning, the Chamber has been coordinating with international organisations and companies, supporting the Dubai’s projects and strategies and implementing its ambitious plans.
By 1970, Dubai Chamber membership had increased to 1,164, and by 1975 the number grew to 1,796. This huge growth was achieved because of the visionary policies of the UAE leadership and the discovery of oil, with Dubai beginning oil exports by 1969. By this period, Dubai Chamber members included top businessmen from various sectors such as trade, industry, construction, banking and transport.
During its first decade, Dubai Chamber focused on organising conferences and exhibitions of products from a number of countries and sectors, which contributed significantly to promoting the emirate as a leading destination of exhibitions, including the Conference of Arab Chambers held in 1973.
1975—1985
After 10 years of its establishment, it became evident that the Chamber needed to improve its performance to keep pace with the rapid changes in the local and international arena. Accordingly, the late Shaikh Rashid Bin Saeed Al Maktoum issued a new law on June 26, 1975, bringing industrial and service sectors under the Chamber in addition to the commercial activities. Dubai Chamber also started focusing more on local, regional and global exhibitions and conferences, which attracted visitors and businessmen from around the world and encouraged foreign investments into all economic sectors.
The opening of Dubai World Trade Centre in 1979 during the visit of Queen Elizabeth to the UAE was a game-changer in several ways. It became the heart of Dubai’s business district, witnessing some of the biggest deals and partnerships at local and international levels. The hosting of major global and regional events at the DWTC helped encourage trade, tourism and investment apart from boosting growth in aviation, hotels and several other sectors.
In 1975, more than 10,000 certificates of origin were issued by Dubai Chamber. This figure increased by four times to reach 41,392 certificates in 1980.
1985—1995
Membership in Dubai Chamber swelled to 20,000 by 1990. In 1995, the late Shaikh Maktoum Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, accompanied by Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, then Crown Prince of Dubai and Minister of Defence, opened the new headquarters of Dubai Chamber. The building became a landmark in Dubai and has since then contributed to the growth of the business community and supported the emirate’s global competitiveness.
1995—2005
This was a period of incredible growth with Dubai Chamber membership reaching more than 36,000 in 1996 as more companies came on board from various commercial and service sectors.
During this period, Dubai Chamber also supported the launch of University of Dubai to support local talents and develop their skills and capabilities. In 2004, Centre for Responsible Business (CRB) was launched to engage the Dubai business community in assuming greater responsibility for the emirate’s social and environmental needs. Dubai Chamber also launched the first edition of Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum Business Award in 2005 to cultivate world-class business culture, with the ultimate goal of creating a high level competitive business environment that fosters trade, business development, and job creation, ultimately contributing to solid and sustainable growth.
2005—2015
The last 10 years has been a period of new phase of growth for Dubai Chamber as it contributed to the economic development of the region and promoted Dubai as a regional and international business hub. Exports and re-exports of Dubai Chamber members to GCC countries rose from Dh17 billion in 1998 to more than 10 times in the last 15 years to reach Dh180 billion in 2014.
Following the implementation of customs unification, exports and re-exports within the member nations peaked to 44 per cent in 2007. Between 2003 and 2007, average annual export growth reached 34 per cent, with total export rising from Dh27 billion to Dh87 billion.
With Dubai’s economy bouncing back from the global recession, recovery was immediate with total exports to the region growing by 12 per cent in 2010 to a total value of Dh101 billion. Growth gathered speed thereafter, by 20 per cent in 2013 to reach Dh164 billion. While the exports growth declined to 10 per cent in 2014, it was much higher than the overall growth of only 2 per cent.
