Dubai Update

Prepared and circulated by the Dubai Commerce and Tourism Promotion Board

DECEMBER 1996

The 25th anniversary of establishment of the United Arab Emirates and 30th anniversary of the accession of the President, HH Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan, as Ruler of Abu Dhabi were celebrated on 2 December.	The Dubai Commerce and Touri sm Promotion Board has opened its 11th overseas office in Los Angeles. It will c over thirteen western states of the USA, three western provinces of Canada, and Mexico.
The number of hotel guests in Dubai during the first three quarte rs of 1996 totalled 1,310,573. This compares with a figure of 1,600,847 for the full twelve months of 1995.	Medical equipment and pharmaceuticals giant, J ohnson & Johnson, is planning to set up a regional service, training and distr ibution centre in the new Dubai Airport Free Zone.
Mercedes-Benz is repor ted to be considering Dubai as the site of a major Middle East regional spare pa rts depot.	The $65 million Emirates Group Training College has been offici ally opened in Dubai. Its facilities include state-of-the-art full flight simula tors.
In a deal involving two prominent Dubai-based companies, the Al Ros tamani Group has taken a 20% stake in Jumbo Electronics.	Xcom Embedded Co ntrol Group, an Indian electronics company, is to establish a manufacturing faci lity in the Jebel Ali Free Zone. It will make cordless headphones and other pr oducts for the CIS and European markets.
Bank Muscat Al Ahli Al Omani has opened a representative office in Dubai, its first outside Oman.	Vietnam and the Czech Republic are both reported to be planning the establishment of trade centres in Dubai.
The new 125-room Howard Johnson Plaza is scheduled to open during the early months of 1997.	Arab Contractors, the Egyptian construction group, is setting up a Dubai office in order to compete more effectively for major infrastructure projects.
Korea's Samsung has opened a dedicated retail outlet for its electronics and home appliance products in Dubai, in association with its local distributor Juma Al Majid Est.	Snowy Mountain Engineering Corporation (SMEC), the Australian consulting and project management firm, is setting up a Dubai branch to expand its operations in the Middle East.
Air Afrique has started cargo flights between Dubai and the West African cities of Brazzaville, Libreville, Dakar, Lome and Bamako.	Cordstrap, a Dutch manufacturer of strapping, load securing and dunnage bags for general packaging, has set up a regional base in the Jebel Ali Free Zone.
American Our, a Chinese company manufacturing medical radiation equipment, is opening a representative office in Dubai.	Panama-registered CMC Services has set up a marketing base in the Jebel Ali Free Zone. The company supplies the food, construction and medical industries on behalf of international principals.
The Dh141 million Warba Centre has opened in Dubai's Deira district. The new complex comprises three floors of shops and four of offices and residential apartments.	Dubai's gold imports in the first eleven months months of 1996 totalled 318.52 tonnes, an increase of nearly 8% from the same period of 1995.