Gulf Gold Empires Built By Indian Entrepreneurs Surge In Value - Arabian Post

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Dubai is witnessing a sharp rise in gold-driven fortunes as long-established Indian entrepreneurs reshape its jewellery sector. Titan Company, known for its Tanishq brand, will acquire 67 per cent of Damas, a leading luxury jewellery retailer with some 146 outlets across the Gulf, for 1.04 billion dirhams, in a deal expected to close by 31 January 2026. This bold expansion markedly strengthens Titan's foothold under its emerging strategy to accelerate regional growth. Gulf Gold Empires Built by Indian Entrepreneurs Surge in Value reflects this ambitious drive to turn the fragmented market into integrated retail powerhouses.

Established players are also enjoying powerful momentum. Firoz Merchant founded Pure Gold Jewellers in 1989 in Dubai, growing it into a network with over 120 outlets across the Middle East and significant manufacturing operations spanning India and China. His transformation of a modest shop into a vertically integrated group underscores the message behind Gulf Gold Empires Built by Indian Entrepreneurs Surge in Value. Similarly, M. P. Ahammed's Malabar Gold & Diamonds has amassed over 340 showrooms across 13 countries, underlining the scale of Indian-driven retail jewellery empires in the region.

These developments coincide with strong structural support. The India–UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement has catalysed trade, with zero-tax exports of jewellery into the UAE and a mere 1 per cent duty on bullion imports into India, fostering growth across the sector. Dubai's infrastructure-from the Gold Souk's dense retail presence to the facilities within the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre -has amplified its role in refining, trading, and retail. The city's gold imports soared from $29.2 billion in 2017 to $48.7 billion in 2021, with exports also climbing strongly.

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Still, headwinds exist. Elevated gold prices have depressed demand in traditional segments, with jewellery demand in the UAE falling 13 per cent in 2024-outpacing a global 11 per cent decline. Shoppers now favour lighter pieces or diamonds, the latter boosted by India's lab-grown diamond exports to the UAE, which rose 57 per cent over two years to $171 million.

Meanwhile, Dubai's free-zone framework is proving an enabling environment for Indian entrepreneurs to scale at speed. Zones such as DMCC, DAFZ and JAFZA offer streamlined licensing, full foreign ownership, tax exemptions, and world-class logistics connectivity. Dubai Chambers even runs programmes and workshops to link Indian SMEs to global markets via digital infrastructure and bonded supply chains.

Dubai's gold trade remains attractive to Indian buyers owing to competitive pricing. Even after temporary fluctuations, UAE gold consistently remains cheaper than in India-partly due to zero import duty and a highly competitive retail landscape-continuing to lure price-sensitive consumers.

Dubai's Gold Souk continues adapting through flexible pricing, lighter designs, and exchange schemes to cushion against price sensitivity.

This appetite among Indian entrepreneurs to scale, integrate, and dominate is being fuelled by strategic policy, savvy infrastructure, and cultural resonance. As Gulf Gold Empires Built by Indian Entrepreneurs Surge in Value, the UAE's gold market is coalescing into a sector shaped not just by glitter, but by modern business ecosystems and enduring ties.

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