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Dubai Chamber Organised 2nd Middle East E-commerce Conference 2014 Concludes On A Successful Note |
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In its efforts to help businesses embrace the exciting journey to the world of e-commerce, the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry organised its 2nd e-commerce conference under its strategic MENA partnership with Alibaba.comat the Raffles hotel on Wednesday. Held under the title, "Unleashing New Business Opportunities Globally" the annual conference dealt with a wide variety of topics on e-commerce, the benefits of doing business on the online platform Alibaba.com, including important information about working with Chinese traders. The Conference was presided over by H.E. Hisham Al Shirawi, 2nd Vice-Chairman, Dubai Chamber , and was attended by experts from global and local e-commerce companies and representatives of Dubai's business community belonging to various economic sectors operating in the emirate. In his welcome address, H.E. Al Shirawi stated that Dubai Chamber 's partnership with Alibaba.com seeks to apply the concept of smart trade in line with the strategy of transforming Dubai into a Smart City, recommended by H.H. Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE Vice-President and Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai. ''Our partnership with Alibaba.com for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region offers our members elite benefits to help them increase export opportunities and facilitate trade through e-Commerce. ''It also opens the doors of opportunities for MENA companies to explore business potential of different markets and allows them to display and sell their goods and services to global companies,'' said H.E. Al Shirawi. He added, ''Now we are launching the MEGA Sourcing 2020 platform with Alibaba.com tailored specially for Dubai Expo 2020, and the Qatar World Cup 2022.'' H.E. Al Shirawi also informed about the signing of the MoUs with Ajman, Ras Al Khaimah and Fujairah Chambers to offer similar e-Commerce benefits to their members as well as the upgrading of its 12,000 members to Verified Membership on the site, giving them access to a range of benefits. ''Currently the total value of e-commerce in the UAE is estimated at US$ 2.5 billion and is expected to accelerate to US$10 billion by 2018 and will be a megatrend for companies here and across the region. Also, Dubai's strategic aim of becoming a global Smart City will definitely accelerate e-commerce, creating new business and job opportunities in the emirate," he said. Sophie Wu, President of Alibaba.com and 1688.com, said: "We believe the future of e-commerce across the globe is very strong and we want to bring new technologies and approaches to global trade to the MENA region. We are excited to work with the Dubai Chamber to launch the MEGA Sourcing 2020 platform and bring new business opportunities to SMEs in this part of the world." Dr. Belaid Rettab, Chief Economist and Senior Director, Economic Research and Sustainable Business Development Sector, Dubai Chamber , spoke on the launching of MEGA Sourcing 2020 Project and Buyer Protection Program which he said is the official and biggest online procurement platform offered by Alibaba Group and Dubai Chamber in the Middle East to tap into USD 42 billion business opportunities. It is tailored specially for Expo 2020 sourcing needs in 5 key industries including building materials, consumer electronics, machinery, fashion and apparel. This e-sourcing can assist in driving costs down and increase competition among suppliers. These savings can help reduce high pressure on the traders' pricing margins, he said.
Highlighting key features of the collaborative project, Dr. Rettab informed that it includes Dubai Chamber "Trusted Member" Certification, Payment Protection Scheme where at least 90% of the payment from order to shipment will be covered while another one is to help traders maximise their cost savings by getting multiple quotations within 12 hour.
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