About Dubai

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) comprise seven member states: the largest and the federal capital - Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah. Dubai is the second largest emirate and the commercial capital, located on the southeastern shore of the Arabian Peninsular.

Dubai is a contemporary, cosmopolitan city which enjoys clean streets and a virtually crime-free environment, the arid , sub-tropical climate is pleasant for most of the year and, while Arab Islamic culture dominates, there is considerable tolerance towards the beliefs of a large expatriate community.

It has outstanding infrastructure and a quality service sector which includes major banks, world-class lawyers, accountancy firms and advertising agencies. Inexpensive telecommunications are excellent, and foreign newspapers, magazines, film and videos are readily available. The official languages Arabic although English is widely spoken and ranks alongside Arabic as the language of commerce. Urdu and Farsi are also well used.

The monetary unit of the UAE is the Dirham, which is divided into 100 Fils. Notes are issued in denominations of 5,10,50,100 and 500. The Dirham is fixed to the US $ at 3.67. There are no exchange controls and the Dirham is freely convertible.

Office hours vary but are generally from 8am to 1pm and from 4pm to 7pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Government offices are open from 8am to 2pm from Saturday to Wednesday and from 8am to 12pm on Thursday. Local banks are open from 8 am to 1pm from Saturday to Thursday. Friday is the weekly holiday for office workers: some companies also close on Thursday afternoons.

Dubai has many well-equipped public and private hospitals offering high-quality health care. Emergency treatment is free, while for non-urgent health care, fees for health care are reasonable. There is also a wide range of good educational institutions, from kindergartens to colleges, with private schools for the English, French, Indian, Japanese, German, Pakistani and Iranian expatriate community.

Dubai International Airport serves over 100 destinations worldwide via 70 airlines, and its Duty Free Shopping Complex is rated number one in the world. A car is a virtual necessity in Dubai and international driving numerous car hire companies accepts licenses. Taxis are abundant and fares reasonable though negotiable.

There is a wide range of accommodation available, from large villas to compact serviced apartments, and an increasing number of five-star hotels provide facilities to match the highest standard anywhere in the world.

The emirate is known as the sporting capital of he Gulf and sporting facilities, from golf and horseracing to diving and powerboat racing, reflect international standards and the city host several world class events. Tax-free shopping is also a popular activity.

Dubai is four hours ahead of GMT.

Dubai stands at a major crossroad of the world's trading routes. It has achieved the status of being the leading hub port between Europe and the Far East, and serves not only the Gulf and Indian subcontinent but, increasingly, the emerging CIS republics and South and East Africa. It is also ideally placed to handle cargo to and from Iraq, when trade re-opens.

Dubai Ports

Capitalizing on its strategic location, Dubai offers customers an extensive distribution network to mainline and feeder services first-class road transport and airfreight facilities. Dubai Ports Authority also guarantees high-productivity procedures, fast vessel turnaround times, state-of-the-art equipment, and well-trained, inexpensive staff at the twin terminals, Port Rashid and Jebel Ali. These facts have earned Dubai the reputation of being the best port in the Middle East and one of the finest in the world.

The objective is to speedup and simplifies the process of clearing goods from the ship into Dubai trading community, or vice versa. It will also ensure smooth and efficient transshipment, taking the minimum amount of time.

All Cargos

Dubai Ports Authority handles a wide variety of non-containerized cargo. Customers are attracted by the superior package the Port has to offer:

It's location; 24-hour availability of a complete range of handling equipment; competitive rates for medium and long-term storage; efficient links with Dubai International Airport's Air Cargo Village; and speedy documentation clearance.

Principal commodities include steel, timber, minerals, bagged and project cargo. Dubai's links with the CIS cotton market were developed in 1995. Specialized break bulk consignments, such as frozen foods, have continued to increase, while growing imports of construction materials, mirror the continuing boom in the building industry around the Gulf.

Great and Small

Dubai Ports Authority's twin terminals also offer attractive rates for medium and long-term storage of goods and many traders take advantage of this to buy goods when the price is right. The consignments are then stored at the port for subsequent delivery to Dubai, or re-exported to neighboring countries.

DPA also have specialized storage facilities for more sensitive commodities such as synthetic resins, heat-sensitive laminates, glass and paper in various stages of refinement.

Dubai International Airport's Cargo Village, located just 15 minutes away from Port Rashid terminal, is an acknowledged leader in the growing intermodal freight trade, and is served by all the major airlines. The Air Cargo Village is particularly popular with carriers of high-tech products and high value shipments. Cargo can be moved from ship to aircraft in as little as two hours. Exporters are able to save a third of the journey time against all-sea transport and make substantial savings against all-air freight cost. The sea air cargo option remains popular with suppliers in the Indian Subcontinent and the Far East.

Jebel Ali Free Zone

Situated some 35 km southwest of Dubai City, the Jebel Ali Free Zone has grown and developed through more than ten years of experience to take it's place amongst the world's leading free zones. The Free Zone offers market access to a potential marketplace of more than 1.5 billion. It is now the base for over 900 companies from 72 countries engaged in 60 activities, ranging from trading and manufacturing to service industry.

Jebel Ali Free Zone and Dubai Ports Authority are inextricably linked-indeed they have the same Chairman. As a port based free zone, supported by a superb infrastructure, the Jebel Ali Free Zone has easy access to all the world class cargo handling facilities and quality services DPA has to offer, whilst import and export rates are among the lowest in the world.

Freedom to do Business

Many companies lease office and warehouse space from the Free Zone Authority to begin with and then plan their own purpose-built facilities as their business in the Free Zone begin to expand.

A major attraction of the Free Zone is that foreign companies can be established without local participation. There are no corporate or personal income taxes, and institutions can repatriate 100 percent of the capital and profits. Free Zone clients can benefit from 15-year tax exemption, which can be renewed for further 15 years.

The free zone can satisfy manufacturers power requirements efficiently and cost-effectively. There are also plentiful supplies of desalinated water. The infrastructure of the Free Zone is another major advantage. To keep pace with the new arrivals, transport networks and telecommunication systems are constantly being updated.

FCS arranges you a base and facilities in Dubai

• Facilities at Dubai (alternative to your own office)

• Import, Regional distribution and re-export of your products from the base in Dubai.

• US $ funding on Deal to Deal partnership basis and/or on pre-agreed terms with 60% Bank financing for stocks held in the Bank's custody.

• Warehousing and logistics in Dubai & other Free Zones

• Custodian services.

Storage and handling

FCS can arrange fully staffed covered and open storage warehousing facilities with re-marking & re-packing facilities.

Inventory Financing against the stocks in our custody.

FCS shall also arrange financing upto 60% of CNF value of the goods under the Bank's custody for a maximum period of 180 days. Finance to your customer (buyer of your goods) on recourse & without recourse basis subject to acceptable credit risk.

Sales / Delivery / Re-export

Sales / Delivery / Re-export with collection of proceeds on your behalf against handling commission to be negotiated.