(Yicai) July 25 -- An increasing number of Chinese companies are expanding their presence in Dubai to take advantage of the diversifying focus of the major business hub in the United Arab Emirates that is zooming in on emerging technologies and digitalization.

Dubai is seeing a rising number of Chinese companies recruiting diverse talents in the Middle East to learn more about the local business culture, H.E. Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, president and chief executive of the local commerce chamber, said to Yicai.

Chinese companies are welcome in the Middle East, Lootah said, adding that Dubai could use the technology and resources of China’s digital economy to help each other expand their business in the global market.

The added presence is visible. Dubai Mall, one of the world’s largest shopping malls, opened a Chinatown section this year. The first floor of the mall is home to many Chinese brands such as Haidilao and Xiaomi.

China is Dubai's largest trading partner. As of the first quarter of this year, the Dubai commerce chamber had over 5,100 active Chinese member firms, and over 360 of them joined the chamber in the first three months of this year.

To attract more Chinese firms, Dubai will bring a delegation to Beijing next month to hold the first international version of the Dubai Business Forum. China is the first chosen destination due to its key role in the global economy, especially in the industrial, commercial, and advanced technology fields.

In addition to the digital economy, some other key areas are agriculture and food security, clean energy, artificial intelligence, and infrastructure, and Dubai would like to attract Chinese firms in these fields to advance strategic cooperation between the UAE and China, Lootah told Yicai.

Chinese companies working in commodities are active in Dubai. The number of Chinese firms that trade in the Dubai Multi Commodities Center jumped 9 percent in the first half to exceed 900, per the commodities exchange and free trade zone.

Bilateral trade between China and the UAE, excluding oil, is expected to double to USD200 billion by 2030, Ahmed Bin Sulayem, executive chairman of the DMCC, said to Yicai, adding that he is confident that the number of Chinese companies trading on the exchange will continue to grow in the coming years.

Digital Economy

The UAE is on a path to kick-start its digital economy so Chinese firms are still in the early stages of exploration.

Tax-free stores at Dubai International Airport accept Chinese digital payments such as Alipay and WeChat and the network is expected to widen.

However, the most popular payment methods in the Middle East are still credit cards such as Visa and MasterCard, said Sayed Munaf, chief sales officer of Dubai-based fintech company Telr.

In terms of digital payments, Apple Pay has the largest market share, followed by Samsung Pay and Google Pay, Munaf said. As China is becoming more influential in Dubai and the Middle East, Telr now has a partnership with China UnionPay and is seeking to collaborate with Chinese digital wallets to provide more diversified solutions.

Alipay began to accept applications from merchants in the UAE in 2018, said Geoffrey Tan, head of Ant International’s Alipay+ business in the Middle East. Alipay has worked with four licensed acquirers in the UAE, and the top three of them cover 90 percent of all merchants in the country. Alipay is now available at more than 100,000 merchants in the UAE, including Dubai and Abu Dhabi International Airports, he added.

In the field of express delivery, Indonesian logistics giant J&T Express which is big in China has entered the Middle East. The firm started operations in Saudi Arabia and the UAE in January 2022.

J&T Express has seen stable business growth since it entered Dubai with an annual growth rate of 25 percent, said Jun Jiang, vice president of J&T Express Middle East. The company has multiple logistics centers and distribution outlets in Dubai, and its service network covers the entire Middle East, the VP added.

"We have seen a surge in demand from China and India as well as other countries to enter the Middle East," Mina Ayoub, manager of communications and marketing at Dubai-based venture capital incubator Astrolabs, told Yicai. Startups eye more business opportunities in e-commerce, fintech, AI, and the digital economy in the Middle East, he added.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine