Dubai: The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry is discussing a law to govern the activities of cooperative societies across the emirate.
In a round table meeting with representatives from cooperative societies, Dubai Chamber stressed the need for a new law that reflects their requirements and tackles the obstacles faced by them.
Cooperative societies in Dubai were complaining that the current law treats them as charities or non-profit organisations though they are commercial entities with social responsibilities.
According to Dubai Chamber, the number of cooperatives operating in the emirate stood at 17 with 102 showrooms and 51,181 shareholders with 109,119,897 shares.
The cooperative societies’ share capital was Dh1.1 billion with total assets of approximately Dh4 billion. Sales of cooperatives during the year 2012 was Dh5.9 billion and their contribution to social and charitable works stood at Dh16.3 million during the same year.
Range of topics
The attendees also raised a range of topics that need to be addressed in the proposed law for the proper functioning of cooperative societies with regards to membership, voting mechanism and profit distribution to members to be decided by the general assembly of each society and in accordance with their charters.
The law will help different economic sectors in facing challenges as part of its commitment to support the growth of the national economy and to provide better services to its members and stakeholders, said a release issued by Dubai Chamber.
