QUOTE
China showcases its wares to the world in Dubai
By William Wallis and Roula Khalaf
Published: August 10 2005 03:00 | Last updated: August 10 2005 03:00
Dubai is the city of mega-projects. But even by the standard of the Gulf emirate, the Dragon Mart stands out. This vast shopping mall designed in the shape of a dragon's tail snakes nearly 2kms across the desert. It can house as many as 4,000 Chinese companies and has a further 15,000 m² of storage space in a nearby warehouse.
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Financed by the Chinese government and built by local property developers Nakheel, the Dragon Mart is intended as a platform for the expansion of Chinese exports into Middle Eastern, European and African markets.
Some 2,000 Chinese companies have moved in since it opened more than two months ago. On one side of the mall a purpose built China-town, designed to accommodate 20,000 traders, is under construction.
The Dragon Mart is part of a broader Chinese push into the Gulf. The expansion has included deals to develop natural gas in Saudi Arabia and to import 10m tonnes a year of Iranian liquefied natural gas.
At the Dragon Mart, shops such as the Great Moral Trading Co, the Beijing Animal Husbandry Co and the Shanghai Forex Rubber Hose company sell a staggering array of Chinese-made products. Crystal dolphins, Arab headdresses, expresso machines, televisions and hospital beds can all be had at prices that, according to African and other traders in Dubai, swingeingly undercut anything else on the market.
The idea behind the Dragon Mart, according to Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the chairman of Nakheel, is that traders from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the US, will be able to buy Chinese products without having to travel to China.
"The Chinese government is going round the world putting together distribution and retail centres. They have been working on this for maybe 10 years but this is the first one they have put up," Mr Bin Sulayem says.
Word of the huge Chinese trade fair in the desert has yet to filter out to the hundreds of thousands of traders from Africa, the Middle East and eastern Europe who use Dubai as a re-export centre. On a recent afternoon, most of the shoppers were curious local Emiratis. But some traders say the real business has already started. One shop manager says he has shifted 40 container loads of electricity generators to Iraq in the past three months.
The mall operates like any other of Dubai's myriad shopping centres, subject to 5 per cent import tariffs. But according to Standard Chartered, the first bank to move to the mall in the hope of capturing large volumes in trade finance, floor space is far cheaper than in Dubai's older trading district.
The project provides the perfect synergy for both the city state's and Chinese ambitions. Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, is seeking to consolidate its position as a regional trading and services centre bridging Europe and Asia.
Its ports and airports are undergoing expansions, following a 20 per cent rise in cargo throughput last year. "We want Dubai to become a logistics and information hub. We are one of the best geographical locations for US and European markets. We have been appealing to India and to the Levant. Now we are appealing to China," says Saeed al Muntafiq, head of the Dubai Development and Investment Authority
By William Wallis and Roula Khalaf
Published: August 10 2005 03:00 | Last updated: August 10 2005 03:00
Dubai is the city of mega-projects. But even by the standard of the Gulf emirate, the Dragon Mart stands out. This vast shopping mall designed in the shape of a dragon's tail snakes nearly 2kms across the desert. It can house as many as 4,000 Chinese companies and has a further 15,000 m² of storage space in a nearby warehouse.
ADVERTISEMENT
Financed by the Chinese government and built by local property developers Nakheel, the Dragon Mart is intended as a platform for the expansion of Chinese exports into Middle Eastern, European and African markets.
Some 2,000 Chinese companies have moved in since it opened more than two months ago. On one side of the mall a purpose built China-town, designed to accommodate 20,000 traders, is under construction.
The Dragon Mart is part of a broader Chinese push into the Gulf. The expansion has included deals to develop natural gas in Saudi Arabia and to import 10m tonnes a year of Iranian liquefied natural gas.
At the Dragon Mart, shops such as the Great Moral Trading Co, the Beijing Animal Husbandry Co and the Shanghai Forex Rubber Hose company sell a staggering array of Chinese-made products. Crystal dolphins, Arab headdresses, expresso machines, televisions and hospital beds can all be had at prices that, according to African and other traders in Dubai, swingeingly undercut anything else on the market.
The idea behind the Dragon Mart, according to Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, the chairman of Nakheel, is that traders from Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the US, will be able to buy Chinese products without having to travel to China.
"The Chinese government is going round the world putting together distribution and retail centres. They have been working on this for maybe 10 years but this is the first one they have put up," Mr Bin Sulayem says.
Word of the huge Chinese trade fair in the desert has yet to filter out to the hundreds of thousands of traders from Africa, the Middle East and eastern Europe who use Dubai as a re-export centre. On a recent afternoon, most of the shoppers were curious local Emiratis. But some traders say the real business has already started. One shop manager says he has shifted 40 container loads of electricity generators to Iraq in the past three months.
The mall operates like any other of Dubai's myriad shopping centres, subject to 5 per cent import tariffs. But according to Standard Chartered, the first bank to move to the mall in the hope of capturing large volumes in trade finance, floor space is far cheaper than in Dubai's older trading district.
The project provides the perfect synergy for both the city state's and Chinese ambitions. Dubai, part of the United Arab Emirates, is seeking to consolidate its position as a regional trading and services centre bridging Europe and Asia.
Its ports and airports are undergoing expansions, following a 20 per cent rise in cargo throughput last year. "We want Dubai to become a logistics and information hub. We are one of the best geographical locations for US and European markets. We have been appealing to India and to the Levant. Now we are appealing to China," says Saeed al Muntafiq, head of the Dubai Development and Investment Authority
dubai is not just about building buildings after all...think of it as Venice:).
our nation is begining to have more and more mega citys. inshallah one day we will once more stand on our feet.
