Jafza Signs Up More Than 270 New Indian Companies in First Half, up 15.6%

The figures came from Abdullah Al Hashemi, DP World's chief executive of global operations for industrial parks and economic zones, in an interview with the Dubai newspaper Al Bayan. He said Jafza attracted AED 1 billion in new investment during the half and leased 13.2 million square feet of space.

The numbers matter because they cover a period in which conflict in the region disrupted shipping and air links across the Gulf. Al Hashemi said 52% of the business activity Jafza registered in the half came after the regional disruption began, which he presented as evidence that investors still have confidence in Dubai. He also said Dubai had kept its place as the world's top destination for new foreign direct investment projects for five years in a row, and that Indian companies had played a central part in that.

The half-year investment figure builds on what DP World reported earlier in the year. In a statement on 20 May, the company said Jafza had secured more than AED 854 million of new investment commitments in the first four months of 2026, with more than 43% of that signed in March and April. The zone hosts about 12,000 companies, according to that statement.

Al Hashemi said Indian firms increasingly treat Dubai as a base for running their regional operations rather than only as a market for exports. He pointed to the emirate's ports, logistics network and free zones, which connect companies to markets in the Middle East, Africa and beyond.

Cargo Rerouted Through India

DP World has also changed how it moves cargo between India and the Gulf to keep trade flowing while traditional routes are disrupted, Al Hashemi said. Some shipments that had been bound for the Gulf were diverted to the group's terminals at Mundra, Nhava Sheva and Kochi in India, then carried on to their final destinations by feeder services.

The company has also reorganised routes linking South-East Asia, India and Colombo with ports on the UAE's east coast, particularly Khor Fakkan and Fujairah, which sit outside the Strait of Hormuz. Al Hashemi said this gives cargo owners and Indian trading companies more options for reaching regional markets and avoiding bottlenecks on some sea lanes.

On freight costs, he said he expects ocean shipping rates to fall eventually, and that the current increases caused by geopolitical disruption will not necessarily last. He compared the situation with the Red Sea crisis, the piracy incidents of 2012 and the Covid-19 pandemic, when transport costs rose before falling back as supply chains adjusted and markets settled.

Whether those rates ease quickly matters to the companies Jafza is trying to attract. The UAE's economy minister said on Monday that sea freight costs had risen 500% and pushed up goods prices by 28%. DP World did not give a full-year target for new Indian registrations at Jafza or say when it expects shipping routes through the Gulf to return to normal.