Dubai Show to attract S African biz, investments

Dubai / Emirates Business

Under the patronage of HH Sheikh Mansoor bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Sumansa Exhibitions announced the grand launch of “The Dubai Show” in a Press Conference held at the iconic Burj Al Arab. With an aim of presenting all that Dubai has to offer to the world, the first edition of The Dubai Show, will be held in South Africa this November. The event, scheduled from November 24-26 at Sandton Convention Centre, Johannesburg, will launch Dubai as a significant contributor to the world’s economy and attract investments into Dubai from Africa.
The Dubai Show seeks to present the emirate’s booming industry verticals to the world, with the objective of generating business, creating new partnerships and exploring new markets. Major industry sectors such as Tourism, Hospitality, Business setups, Real Estate, Free zones, Trade, Services, Medical Tourism, Education, etc., will be represented at the event.
“The Dubai Show in Johannesburg will serve as a lucrative platform for several industries to forge ties with their African partners. This will be a great opportunity for high profile, as well as small and medium enterprises to gain foothold into an emerging market and establish their brand comfortably, besides opening doors for African partners to establish themselves in Dubai. Given the large consumer base with a population of 52.98 million, South Africa shows promising potential of growing into a profitable market for UAE retailers. On the other hand, the rapidly growing African economy will find a rewarding base in the UAE to expand their industries in other countries”, said Sultan Al Suwaidi, Partner at Sumansa Exhibitions.
“This is going to be one mega event which will showcase all that Dubai has to offer to the world, the potential is immense and opportunities galore and we certainly think this would be a one of its kind exhibition with representation from such diverse industry sectors, nothing of this kind has ever been done before,” said Sajid Ali, Director, Sumansa Exhibitions, the organisers of The Dubai Show. “With Johannesburg as our starting point, we intend to mark Dubai’s presence – economic and otherwise – in many different parts of the globe.
According to figures provided by the South African embassy in Abu Dhabi, the UAE is the 24th largest investor in South Africa and is its largest trading partner in the GCC region. The UAE is also the 21st largest export market to South Africa. Interestingly, not only is the UAE one of the leading exporters of goods to several African countries, it is also among the top ten importers of goods and commodities for as many as 10 African countries. It is estimated that the UAE’s total non-oil trade with Africa is worth US$ 19.1 billion – and this figure is expected to further rise in coming years as the UAE authorities make concerted efforts to further diversify their trade and business interests in the African continent.
Trade exchange between UAE and South Africa reached $2.9 billion (AED10.6 billion) as per last year’s reports, with UAE’s trade balance heavily in favour of South Africa. More than 200 South African companies are presently operating across UAE including prominent entities such as Murray and Roberts, besides 13 projects worth $170 million. As per news reports, UAE is South Africa’s sixth-largest source of crude oil, whereas UAE forms a significant market for the former’s agricultural produce and precious metals. Medical tourism also creates sizeable traffic between the countries with up to 13 percent of medical tourists coming to the UAE from Africa and, by 2020, the emirate is anticipated to welcome more than 500,000 medical tourists from African countries and generate an
estimated AED2.6 billion in revenue.