Jebel Ali provides perfect staging for foreign companies

Any Chinese company, big or small, determined to establish a trustworthy presence and reputation in an overseas market should try and blend into a local market and win the trust of niche clients - and one of the world's best places to base their operation is Dubai's Jebel Ali Free Zone.

So say Chinese companies already established in what is considered one of the world's largest free trade zones, such as Sinotrans Ltd and Hikvision Digital Technology Co Ltd, which are both trying to expand their overseas businesses through the zone.

Jebel Ali's owners say it has built its own eco-system which is perfect for Chinese companies looking to establish overseas outposts. Jebel Ali allows foreign companies to have 100 percent ownership without the need for any local sponsor, who can often automatically take a 51 percent share of a new company setting up in the United Arab Emirates, said Ibrahim Aljanahi, the free zone's deputy CEO and chief commercial officer.