In the last decade, Dubai has emerged as a leading international commercial and financial centre. It has become the third largest re-export centre in the world. The strategic location of Dubai, the open and liberalised policies of the Dubai government, state-of-the-art infrastructure and easy access to large and growing regional markets are just a few of the many factors which have ignited Dubai’s growth.

Dubai developed the concept of on-shore, special economic zones with the creation of ‘Free Zones’ for financial services, media, technology organisations and more. These special zones provide industry-specific, world-class infrastructure with 100% business ownership, no barrier on capital and profits repatriation, no foreign exchange control and an extended tax holiday.

A pro-business environment with an outstanding record of political stability and one of the fastest growing economies has made Dubai an extremely attractive location for global businesses. Dubai has become a regional base for most Fortune 500 companies (with all top 10 having a sizeable presence) due to a ccess to an economy of USD 1.5 trillion in terms of GDP for the Middle East, Asia, Indian sub-continent and Africa, as well as close proximity to the developed European markets. In addition, with a mature spot trading market in place for gold and other commodities, commodities derivatives are the logical next step.