When I think of Dubai, I think of oil and seven-star hotels.
Of course I should know better than to pigeonhole the modern emirate state; which contrary to popular belief, counts less than 30% of its GDP from oil revenues.
Today Dubai, both a city and emirate within the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is viewed by many investors as a gateway to working in the Arab world. The UAE itself is now ranked as the 26th easiest place to do business out of 185 countries worldwide on the World Bank’s ‘Doing Business report’.
The Great Growth Potential For Commodity Markets in Dubai
And it is the diverse economy that Dubai has nurtured in recent decades that had made it a regional hub for the trade and investment of commodities such as gold and precious metals, diamonds and colored stones, energy, tea and significantly pearls and fashion jewelry.
However in comparison to other markets, a lot of significant initiatives in this area are still relatively new. For example, the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange (DGCX) only commenced trading in 2005. Its evolution in recent years has been exciting to say the least.
Just this past month, DGCX reported its trading volumes had just crossed the $1 Trillion mark. According to a press release by the derivatives exchange; which offers a range of trading products including precious metal, base metal, energy and currency; 24.5 million contracts had been traded since its launch less than eight years ago.
ZE PowerGroup To Touchdown At Platts Commodities Week
With such a significant milestone recently crossed it’s no better time for Dubai to host the upcoming Platts Commodities Week event, which takes place in the Raffles Hotel early next month.
Platts Commodity Week, June 2 -3, is an important platform for those engaged in energy and commodity markets to gain insight into important trends affecting both the regional and international markets. Platts, one of our valued data partners, promises to have experienced editors, analysts and news reporters on hand to provide insight and analysis on the most important stories unfolding within the industry right now.
ZE PowerGroup will also have a strong presence at the event, including our President and CEO, Dr Zak El-Ramly. Infact three of our four attending delegates, including Dr El-Ramly, will be travelling halfway across the world from Canada just to be present for this year’s event. This signals just how seriously ZE considers Dubai as a growing commodities hub and location for new business.
So next week, we will be setting up the ZE Booth in the Platts Commodity Week Connect Lounge. Joining Zak will be Manal El-Ramly, Director of Global Markets, Bruce Colquhoun, Manager of Business Development and Ian Gordon, Director of Business Development for European Markets. All will be available to talk about the latest new features to come out of our recent ZEMA 4 release.
Drop Us A Line
If you are interested in meeting with the ZE team, please drop by our booth. We’re also happy to set up a private meeting, preferably in the shade, with Dr Zak El-Ramly and/or other members of the team.
If you would like to arrange something now, do contact us at media@ze.com. Our team is looking forward to seeing you there (as well as weather conditions of 40 degrees Celsius for a change).