UAE important trade, financial hub in ME

The UAE consumption of general commodity paper is 3.5 times that of newsprint. Asia Pulp & Paper (APP), one of the world’s leading pulp and paper companies and the largest vertically integrated pulp and paper producer in Asia, excluding Japan, has said that the consumption of both is high in the region due to the UAE’s position as the trade, media and financial hub in the Middle East. APP has announced its sponsorship of the 5th Paper Arabia Show 2012, the biggest paper industry show in the MENA region, to be held at the Dubai International Exhibition from 1-3 October 2012. Satish Khanna, General Manager, Al Fajer Information and Services, organizers of the show, said: “The expenditure on newsprint was high in recent years but with the evolution of the digital media the consumption has dwindled, while commodity paper consumption is getting higher with the economic rebound in the UAE and region.” He said Al Fajer was pleased to have a company of APP’s stature as a sponsor of Paper Arabia for the fifth consecutive year. He pointed out that Paper Arabia has become a must participate exhibition for companies working in the paper, packaging and tissues industries. Suneet Sood, CEO, APP Dubai office said: “In 2011, growth of the stationery division of our company was stable, whereas the paper division grew by 13% and the packaging division by 30%. The total sales for 2011 by APP for Middle East region was USD 600 million. This shows our firm commitment to the UAE and the region.” He added: “APP is looking to expand its presence in Middle East and Africa. Hence, APP Dubai is currently focusing on Saudi Arabia which account for 30% for our sales and has potential to grow. The total UAE sales have also gone up by 9%. New offices have been opened in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Kenya and South Africa.” APP will unveil a range of new products at Paper Arabia 2012 including Foopak and Kokoru. Foopak is a certified 100% food grade packaging product designed to protect freshness and quality of food, prevent greasing and for special frozen application. With Foopak, the originality of food’s quality and taste remains, hence keeping the food delicious. Kokoru is an innovative product for children consisting of colourful paper, which can be used to create anything under the sun, like cartoon characters, animals, birds, photo frames and pencil/ pen attachments . Kokoru is designed to nurture the creativity in children and at the same time they have fun making useful items. APP has its principal operations in Indonesia, and markets its products to more than 65 countries on six continents, including Dubai. Newsprint paper includes newspapers and magazines whereas general commodity paper includes office paper, photocopy paper, carbonless paper, notebooks, dairies, food packaging, shopping bags, business cards, greeting cards and corporate and marketing collateral. The paper, tissue and converting industries will be displaying latest technologies at the three-day show. Khanna added that Paper Arabia 2012 offers opportunities to the manufacturers and suppliers of finished products, equipment, machinery, paper chemicals, services, supplies of paper, tissue and converting sector to make inroads to the Middle East and North African markets. The show will place special emphasis on hygiene and disposable products in view of the surge in demand for various products like wet wipes, baby diapers and sanitary napkins. Elite players from the industry are participating in Paper Arabia 2012 as they believe it offers opportunities to the manufacturers and suppliers of finished products, equipment, machinery, paper chemicals, services, supplies of paper, tissue and converting sector to access the lucrative Middle East and North African markets. From gulftoday