DMCC Sees Record Growth, Elevates FDI Share to 15%

The world’s flagship free zone and the Dubai Government’s Commodity Trade and Enterprise Authority announced 2024, listing 1,023 new member companies.

DMCC now accounts for 15% of all foreign direct investment (FDI) in Dubai, up from 11% last year, accounting for 7% of the emirate’s GDP.

In the second half of 2024, DMCC’s focus is on strengthening its core real estate developments in Dubai’s uptowns and Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT), as well as strategically expanding its ecosystem network in high-value sectors such as AI and Web3.

Our performance in the first half of 2024 demonstrates both continued strong investment growth across our area and the continued attractiveness of Dubai. it is an important center of world trade. As DMCC approaches 25,000 member companies, we will continue to accelerate this growth through a curatorial service offering and a commercial space that matches the reality of business needs.”

The overall growth of DMCC’s business district began with strong results in a number of areas. This was especially the case for technology, where the DMCC registered 226 new companies, including 14 gaming and nine AI companies.

The DMCC crypto center welcomed 64 new companies, including seven virtual asset service providers (VASPs), meaning its membership has increased by more than 11% in the year to date. Meanwhile, 159 energy companies joined the DMCC in the first half of 2024, bringing the total in its energy ecosystem to more than 3,260 – the largest for a single DMCC industry.

DMCC also added 140 companies from the financial sector, up 8.5% year-to-date. Solid numbers were also recorded in agriculture, precious stones and precious metals. DMCC continues to see a balanced growth trajectory in its physical goods and services ecosystem.

DMCC is set to launch its new AI Center soon. Located in the Uptown Tower, the AI ​​Center is expected to be the next leading innovation platform to advance AI adoption and develop real-life use cases. The center will be co-located with DMCC’s other leading Web3 ecosystems DMCC Crypto Center and DMCC Gaming Centre, providing an integrated experience for its members as well as enhanced networking and collaboration opportunities.

Despite downward pressures on global diamond prices, the UAE recorded significant improvements in diamond trade volumes through DMCC’s Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE) in the first half of the year.

For natural diamonds, more than 113 million carats of rough and 6.3 million carats of polished diamonds were sold for a total of 119.4 million carats. This corresponds to an increase of almost 12% year-on-year volume of the combined rough and polished diamond trade.

Meanwhile, lab-grown diamonds recorded 15.9 million carats by rough and polished volume in total H1 trade, up 51% year-on-year, including a 62% increase in rough.

Through these growth numbers, DMCC continues to strengthen Dubai’s status as the world’s leading trading center for diamonds and precious stones.