The Hindu Business Line : Dubai Gold hopes to raise sales 25 pc in shopping fest

DESPITE high gold prices worldwide, Dubai Gold & Jewellery Group (DGJG) hopes to increase gold and jewellery sales by about 25 per cent during the 11th Dubai Shopping Festival (DSF) 2006.

Dubai's gold retail trade worth over $3 billion is an important contributor to the UAE's national GDP.

"We expect gold and jewellery sales to increase to around Rs 850 crore during DSF 2006 from Rs 720 crore in the last festival. In volume terms, it can go up to 14.5 tonnes from 12.5 tonnes. About 95 per cent of the tourists who visit the festival buy gold," Mr Tawhid Abdullah, Chairman, DGJG, told Business Line.

Dubai enjoys a tax-free economy thereby making gold and jewellery purchases at least 40 per cent cheaper compared to the international market.

"On purchase of gold jewellery worth Rs 6,225 (500 dirham), the customers are eligible to win 1-kg gold on a daily basis and a weekly prize of 1 carat diamond each to 4 winners. During DSF 2005, we had 17 Indian families taking home a total of 127 kg of gold as prizes," he said.

The Group, on Thursday, announced its mega gold prizes amounting to Rs 11 crore as part of its promotional plans for the festival.

A total of 143 kg of gold will be given as prizes during the month-long festival starting from January 4. Unveiling the official DSF 2006 gold coin, which alone offers 115 kg of gold as prizes, Mr Abdullah, said, "The DSF 2006 is one of the biggest shopping extravaganzas of the world. It will attract tourists from 200 countries ."

"The gold coin and its promotion will be DSF's key attraction. The souvenir is 22-karat gold, 2.5-gram coin with the DSF shopping bag on the obverse side and the landmarks of Dubai on the reverse, worth Rs 3,113 (250 dirham)," he said.

"We expect gold coin sales to go up to 1,75,000. We sold about 1,45,000 coins in last festival," he said.

On purchase of the coin, customers are entitled to a coupon, which offers as prize 20 kg of gold weekly for four consecutives weeks and a mega prize of 30 kg of gold and 5 kg under the scratch-and-win scheme, thus totalling 115 kilos of gold, he said.

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