Global Free Zones of the Future 2012/13 Winners fDi MAGAZiNE’S SEcONd GLOBAL RANkiNG OF EcONOMic ZONES HAS AwARdEd duBAi AiRpORt FREE ZONE tHE titLE OF GLOBAL FREE ZONE OF tHE FutuRE 2012/13. Gráinne Byrne ANd Courtney FinGar REpORt ON tHE RESuLtS
20
www.fdiintelligence.com
June/July 2012
GLOBAL OutLOOk GLOBAL FREE ZONES OF tHE FutuRE 2012/13
D
ubai Airport Free Zone (Dafza), located in the United Arab Emirates, has been crowned fDi Magazine’s Global Free Zone of the Future 2012/13. It has moved from second place in the ranking two years ago to be awarded the top spot. Dafza, which was established in 1996 and considers itself to be the fastest growing free zone in the Middle East, impressed the independent judging panel for a variety of reasons. It has excellent transportation links and a clear focus on attracting FDI. The zone only registers foreign companies, and has more than 1300 operational presently. Dafza has an increasing environmental awareness and is implementing ‘green buildings’ and an Inter national Organisation for Standardisation energy management system. Second position goes to UAE-based Dubai International Financial Centre, a newcomer to the ranking. Chinabased Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone (WFTZ), the champion from the 2010/11 ranking, moves into third place. The remainder of the top 10 is made up by Iskandar (Malaysia), DuBiotech (UAE), Tanger Free Zone (Morocco), Freeport of Ventspils (Latvia), The Clark Freeport Zone (Philippines), Chittagong Export Processing Zone (Bangladesh) and Dubai Media City (UAE). As well as being overall fDi Global Free Zone of the Future 2012/13, Dafza takes the top spot in the ‘Best Airport Zone’ category. It is followed by Tanger Free Zone and The Clark Freeport Zone. The top three in the ‘Best Port Zone’ category is led by Tanger Free Zone, with Freeport of Ventspils placed second and Mauritius Freeport coming in third position.