Dubai: Dubai’s economy has witnessed a 12.5 per cent growth in terms of new companies being registered during the first quarter. New companies registered with Dubai Trade reached 9,317. The growth brought the total number of registered companies to 106,000 firms. This has led to an 8.7 per cent growth in the number of transactions to Dh9.7 million.

“The more the number of companies get registered to do some kind of trade, the higher will be the general activity and better it will be for the health of the economy. Dubai GDP growth is expected to be well over 4 per cent this year,” said Anita Yadav, head of Fixed Income Research at Emirates NBD.

The statistics were released recently by Dubai Trade, an online gateway for trade and logistics services in Dubai.

“More businesses getting registered with Dubai Trade is because Dubai’s profile as a prominent international destination for trade and finance is increasing. Global investors’ appetite to invest in Dubai’s lucrative economic sectors which are led by trade, logistics, tourism and finance is high,” Yadav added.

Rosoom, a secure online payment gateway of Dubai Trade, also recorded an increase of 29.2 per cent in the total collections during the first quarter of 2015. The increase surpassed Dh570 million due to more than half a million online payment transactions using multiple payment forms such as Credit Cards, E-Dirham and Direct Debit.

— Omnia Ibrahim is a trainee at Gulf News