Online Desk: Nearly 11,000 Bangladeshi firms are members of the UAE-based chamber

The number of new Bangladeshi companies joining the Dubai Chamber of Commerce has surged 47 percent year on year to 1,044 in the first half of this year, said the chamber.

With the latest addition, total number of Bangladeshi firms registered as members of Dubai Chamber rose to 10,975 companies, the chamber said early this month.

The chamber of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) unveiled the list of nationalities behind new member companies at a time when allegations of illegal fund transfer abroad mainly through trade misinvoicing and hundi, an informal mechanism of money transfer to redirect remittances sent by Bangladeshis abroad, is widespread and the name of Dubai as a business point comes quite frequently among the local business community.

Officially, Bangladeshi companies are not allowed to transfer funds without approval from the Bangladesh Bank and an insignificant number of local businesses have so far gotten approval from the central bank to invest abroad.

The Bangladesh central bank until January this year has allowed 17 companies to invest abroad and cleared roughly $40.15 million to be invested abroad globally.

Dubai Chamber has not disclosed the amount of investment by the foreign companies.

It said 30,146 new companies joined the chamber in the first six months of 2023 and Indian businesses topped the list, followed by United Arab Emirates and Pakistan.

In total, Indian companies accounted for 22.3 percent of the firms registered until the end of June 2023.

Some 6,717 new Indian-owned companies signed up for membership in January-June 2023, up 39 percent from 4,845 the same period a year ago, said the chamber.

It said 3,395 new companies from Pakistan joined the chamber, representing an increase of 59 percent. Total number of Pakistani companies registered at Dubai Chamber rose to 40,315.

Also, companies from Egypt, United Kingdom and China topped the list of new members of Dubai Chamber.

Jordanian and Lebanese companies were also among the highest-ranking new member companies, according to the chamber.

Dubai Chamber said 42.4 percent of new companies are engaged in trade and repair services, while 30.8 percent specialise in the real estate, renting, and business services sector.

Businesses in the construction industry took third place with 7.2 percent while the transport, storage, and telecommunications sector ranked fourth, accounting for 6.3 percent of the total activity among new companies joining the chamber during the first half of the year.

“The diversity of nationalities represented among the new companies joining the chamber reflects the vibrancy of Dubai’s dynamic business environment, together with the emirate’s strong ability to consistently attract a broad range of foreign direct investment,” said

President and CEO of Dubai Chambers Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah highlighted that the number of new chamber members increased by 43% during the first half of 2023.

The chamber said the list of countries with the highest growth rates in new member company ownership during the first half of 2023 included Japan, which increased by 253 percent to reach 60.