DMCC—the world’s flagship free zone and Government of Dubai Authority on commodities trade and enterprise—has announced key performance results in H1 2024, recording 1,023 new member companies, bringing its total to almost 25,000 companies.

DMCC now accounts for 15% of all foreign direct investment (FDI) in Dubai, up from 11% last year, and 7% of the emirate's GDP.

DMCC’s focus for the second half of 2024 remains the consolidation of its major real estate developments in Uptown Dubai and Jumeirah Lakes Towers (JLT) as well as the strategic expansion of its network of ecosystems in high-value sectors such as AI and Web3.

Ahmed bin Sulayem, Executive Chairman and CEO of DMCC, said, “Now accounting for 15% of Dubai's FDI, our performance in the first half of 2024 demonstrates both the consistently strong investment growth across our district as well as the continued appeal of Dubai as a major global trade hub. As DMCC approaches 25,000 member companies, we will continue to accelerate this growth through a curated services offering and commercial space that matches business needs to reality.”

The overall growth of DMCC's business district was spearheaded by strong results in a number of sectors. This was particularly the case for technology, where DMCC registered 226 new companies, including 14 gaming and nine AI companies.

The DMCC Crypto Centre onboarded 64 new companies, including seven Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASP), meaning its membership grew by over 11% in the year to date. Meanwhile, 159 energy companies joined DMCC in H1 2024, taking the total across its energy ecosystem to over 3,260 – DMCC’s largest for a single industry.

DMCC also added 140 companies from the financial sector, a rise of 8.5% in the year to date. Solid numbers were also noted in agriculture, precious stones, and precious metals. DMCC continues to see a balanced growth trajectory across its physical commodities and services ecosystems.

DMCC is preparing for the imminent launch of its new AI Centre. Located in Uptown Tower, the AI Centre is anticipated to be the next leading innovation platform for advancing AI adoption and developing real life use cases. The Centre will be housed alongside DMCC’s other leading Web3 ecosystems the DMCC Crypto Centre and DMCC Gaming Centre, providing an integrated experience as well as enhanced networking and collaboration opportunities for its members.

Despite downward pressures on global diamond prices, the UAE recorded significant rises in diamond trade volumes in the first half of the year via DMCC's Dubai Diamond Exchange (DDE).

For natural diamonds, over 113 million carats of rough and 6.3 million carats of polished were traded for a combined total of 119.4 million carats. This equates to an almost 12% rise in combined rough and polished diamond trade by volume year-on-year.

Meanwhile, lab-grown diamonds recorded 15.9 million carats in total H1 trade by volume of rough and polished, a rise of 51% year-on-year, including a 62% rise in rough.

Through these growth figures, DMCC continues reinforcing Dubai’s status as the world’s leading trade hub for diamonds and precious stones.