DUBAI, Aug. 16 (Xinhua) -- Dubai's second biggest free economic zone, Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza), said Wednesday it has attracted in the first six months 267 new companies from 48 countries, representing a 6 percent year on year increase.
Asia-Pacific companies represented 20 percent of the new firms setting up shop in Jafza, making the Far East the biggest group of newcomers from outside the Middle East.
The region was followed by European companies (13 percent) and North America and African companies (4 percent each).
Jafza is a subsidiary of the world's third biggest container port operator Dubai Ports (DP) World. It is adjacent to Dubai's free port.
The integration of Jebel Ali Port and the Free Zone is a model DP World is implementing across its global network.
Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, the parent company of Jafza, said "Jafza's performance in the first half of the year highlights its position as a major hub for trade and logistics in the region, and one of the engines of economic growth in Dubai and the United Arab Emirates."
Jebel Ali Free Zone has a wide variety of sectors. Electronics companies account for 17 percent of new companies, followed by equipment and machinery businesses (14 percent); food, agricultural products, vehicles and transport (12 percent each); service companies (9 percent); general trading, steel and construction materials (8 percent each).
Earlier in the week, Jafza said China remained its largest trading partner in 2016.
The trade between Jafza and China hit 11.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2016, "with many Chinese companies in Dubai using logistics capability to re-export goods and products," said Jafza.
