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Dubai City of Gold Conference opens to optimistic projections

April 24, 2007

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Dubai, United Arab Emirates—The fifth annual Dubai City of Gold Conference (DCGC), held from April 22-23 at Dubai's Park Hyatt hotel, focused on how jewelry is playing an increasingly vital role in the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) economies, and on the opportunities and challenges of the industry in the region.

The two-day conference, organized by the Dubai Gold and Jewelry Group (DGJG), presented 20 leading industry speakers, who drew more than 300 delegates from 25 countries, making it the largest conference yet and establishing it as the premier event of its kind in the world.

DGJG Chairman Tawfique Abdullah opened the conference with a speech stating how the United Arab Emirates' government has played a vital role in ensuring the strength of the industry in the country, calling its participation in the DCGC "an excellent example of what private and public sector partnership can achieve."

Abdullah said that the jewelry market in the GCC represents 14 percent of the global total, which stands at $146 billion per year. Of that share, Saudi Arabia accounts for 45 percent, followed by the United Arab Emirates at 30 percent.

"I am proud to say that our industry is the third-largest contributor to the GCC economy, after construction and oil and gas," Abdullah said in a statement.

He added that jewelry represents 10 percent of the region's non-oil GDP, and is expected to grow at an annual rate of 15 percent to 20 percent.

Under Secretary at the Ministry of Economy HE Abdullah bin Ahmed Al Saleh underlined the importance of the jewelry industry to the United Arab Emirates' economy, citing statistics on gold trade through Dubai, which increased 37 percent last year, reaching $14.75 billion.

"I truly believe that Dubai's status as the City of Gold and the jewelry destination of the world is now firmly established," Al Saleh said. "The remarkable performance is not only due to the city's commitment to service excellence and competitive pricing. Seven million tourists visited Dubai in 2006, and 52 percent of all gold sales in the emirate were made to tourists."

Colin Griffith, executive director (gold) at the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC), pointed out that Dubai's recent successes were all the more remarkable in the context of the global market, which has suffered setbacks due to the volatility of gold prices. He added that the emirate's role in the market is moving beyond retail. Gold refining in Dubai, he said, stands at 400 tons a year, putting it "in the premier league of gold-refining countries."

Griffith also pointed to the expanding scope and importance of the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX), which is constantly moving into new sectors, such as steel and sugar, and is attracting such global heavy hitters as Deutsche Bank, HSBC and JP Morgan. He wrapped up his speech by formally announcing the launch of Dubai's first souvenir gold coin, "Visions of Dubai," which will go onto the market in September.

Despite the generally positive mood, the early stages of the conference did involve some cautionary advice. Alison Burns, head of precious metals for Standard Bank, highlighted the ongoing volatility of the global gold market, and the jitters this has caused among wholesalers and retailers.
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