Dubai: The gold and jewellery sector has been assigned priority status by the UAE government, with the intention to transform it from a regional hub into a leading global centre for bullion manufacture and design.
This will see the setting up of a “UAE Gold Standard” as well as policies to ensure stability within the gold trade.
Gold prices have had an exceptionally volatile few weeks, with prices touching six-year highs before making a partial retreat.
The yellow metal closed last week at $1,506 an ounce.
Dubai has already established itself as a prominent gold and precious metals centre, through its Gold Souq, the DMCC (Dubai Multi Commodities Centre), and as a base for bullion refining and jewellery making.
Now, with the latest announcement, the UAE itself will try to make that transformation.
In the region, Turkey is the other major hub for gold.
The new policy — approved by the UAE Cabinet — features 10 strategic programmes and initiatives. This includes governance within the gold sector at the federal and emirate levels and the establishment of a federal platform for gold trading and tracking its sources.
Statement of intent
The policy will “develop tools and initiatives that stimulate growth to bring added value to this vital sector,” a statement said. “This will contribute to increasing non-oil GDP, strengthening UAE’s domestic industry sector and the other supporting fields.”
The gold trade in the UAE has a 20 per cent share of the country’s total non-oil exports.
