Dubai Chamber expands global footprint with Vietnam office

Dubai International Chamber, one of the three chambers operating under Dubai Chambers, has inaugurated a new international representative office in Vietnam.

The chamber said the new office will bolster its presence in Southeast Asia following recent openings in Indonesia and Singapore. It is aimed at boosting bilateral trade and investment between Dubai and Vietnam.

The opening of the Vietnam office brings the total number of Dubai International Chamber representative offices to 22 across the Middle East, Africa, Eurasia, China, India and Latin America.

The office will support and guide Dubai-based companies seeking to expand into Vietnam throughout every stage of their international expansion. It will create new mechanisms to attract foreign direct investment from Vietnam to Dubai by promoting the city as a preferred business hub and gateway to access the Middle East.

“The inauguration of our new office in Ho Chi Minh City underlines the importance of Dubai’s well-established relationship with Vietnam,” said Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, president and CEO of Dubai Chambers.

“We look forward to building on our shared commitment to innovation to increase bilateral trade in line with the ambitions of the Dubai Global initiative, which seeks to attract inward investment to Dubai and supports the emirate’s drive to boost non-oil foreign trade to Dhs2tn by 2026.”

The opening of the London office comes as part of the Dubai Global initiative, which was launched last year by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of the Executive Council.

.@DxbChamberIntl, one of the three chambers operating under @DubaiChambers, has inaugurated a new international representative office in Vietnam. The Ho Chi Minh City office brings the total number of Dubai International Chamber representative offices to 22 across the world. pic.twitter.com/avsicZuAJ7

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) July 23, 2023

The initiative aims to develop a powerful network of 50 international representative offices worldwide by 2030 that will support Dubai Chambers’ strategic goals of attracting international business and investment to Dubai and driving the global expansion of its members.

The Dubai Global strategy is aimed at attracting foreign companies, SMEs, investors, and international talent to Dubai by showcasing the emirate’s competitive advantages while strengthening engagement with key international stakeholders.

Dubai boosts trade with Vietnam

The latest data from Dubai Customs show that the value of non-oil bilateral trade between Dubai and Vietnam reached an impressive $7.7bn (Dhs28.3bn) last year, reflecting the depth of joint trade ties between the two markets.

Dubai Customs said that as many as 170 Vietnamese companies were registered as members of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce as of May 2023, 22 of which joined between January and May.

The inauguration of the new office is set to play a key role in boosting this momentum by attracting more Vietnamese companies to Dubai.

Last year, notable exports and re-exports from Dubai to Vietnam included tobacco ($92m), animal fodder$38m) and aluminium ($33m), as well as perfumes and cosmetics, machinery, plastics, iron and steel, mineral fuels and bitumen, and medical instruments.

Dubai’s main imported products from Vietnam included electronics ($5.15bn), footwear ($564m), and machinery ($375m), together with knitted articles, inorganic chemicals, apparel, fruits and nuts, coffee, tea and spices, furniture, and leather articles.

The chamber has identified several areas that demonstrate high potential for growth in exports from Vietnam to Dubai, including coffee, tropical fruits, furniture, and cashew nuts. Promising sectors for investment in Vietnam include agribusiness, construction, ecotourism, food processing, and renewable energy. 

Read: Dubai Chamber inaugurates first European office in London