Oct

30

Subsidies help in attracting firms to DOZ

Filed Under Dubai 

24 August 2006 DUBAI — Dubai Outsourcing Zone’s policy of providing heavy subsidies to companies setting up offices in the free zone is paying off. Two major companies will be signing contracts to move into the park by the end of September, according to DOZ director, Ismail Al Naqi, to add to the 55 already signed up.

“We have two major contracts that are being discussed at the moment. I can’t say which companies they are yet. But one is in banking and finance and the other one is in health care. We expect to announce their arrival at Dubai Outsourcing Zone (DOZ) just before Ramadan, the last week of September,” said Al Naqi.

Firms that have already signed up with DOZ include du, the UAE’s second telephone operator, ABN Amro Bank and AXA Insurance. du is set to open a multimillion dollar contact centre, which will be equipped by a range of suppliers including Oracle, Cisco and Nokia. Arab Bank, Mashreqbank, the Jumeriah International group and InfoSpan are also planning to open outsourcing facilities in the zone. The firms are attracted to the free zone not only by the state-of-the-art facilities on offer, but also by the heavily subsidised commercial rents and residential housing provided by DOZ.

When asked if companies would contract with the zone without subsidies Al Naqi said: “No. In order to contract these companies you have to offer them something. We want to position Dubai as the leading outsourcing place in the region and we are already extremely successful. We’ve contracted 70 companies till now. We expect that number to climb to at least a 100 by the end of next year. Fifty-five of them will be operational before the end of this year. Next year we expect some 7000 people working in the DOZ.

“By setting up in the zone du, for example, is saving at least 60 per cent of costs,” said Al Naqi. “The commercial building will have cables, a raised floor, extra air-conditioning and a sound absorbing sealing. Power will be provided by Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, free of charge,” he explained. DOZ is aiming to grab five per cent of the global outsourcing market over the next five years and wants to have between 200 and 300 companies based there. The free zone will be fully operation before the end of the year.

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