The global revenue of Dubai Drydocks World, a unit of Dubai World, has soared to Dh9.17 billion ($2.5 billion) in the 12 months to October, according to a top official of the company.

Unveiling the expansion plans for next year, Sultan bin Sulayem, chairman of Dubai World, said he wanted to reduce its reliance on Dubai as a profit centre by investing in expansion and overseas acquisitions.

The company is set to acquire a controlling stake in a Chinese dock, bin Sulayem was quoted as saying in Emirates Business.

“This will make DDW’s total investment Dh9.17 billion from January to the end of this year,” he said.

He disclosed that the company was now negotiating to buy companies in India, Thailand and Vietnam, together with operations in Latin America.

Bin Sulayem said the company currently has three dry-docks in Indonesia and two in Singapore, all of which are fully booked for the next two years.

'There is a fourth dry-dock under construction in Indonesia, and DDW is looking to expand and invest in new companies, as the market is “rich and full of opportunities,' he said.

The company already has around 30,000 employees, Dubai and Asian operations combined, he added.

“We have huge operations in ship and oil platform building in Singapore and Indonesia, which we acquired a year ago,” he said.

“The systems we are using in them are similar to the ones in Dubai. We made $1.5 billion in revenues from our companies in Singapore and Indonesia, and another $1 billion from our dry-dock in Dubai,” Bin Sulayem said.

He pointed out that DDW was in sound financial health and the firm would soon buy 60 per cent of the Chinese dry-dock Top Niche for $55 million.

The global financial crisis has not affected DDW’s businesses or investment plans. Bin Sulayem said: “I believe this crisis creates further opportunities for investments.”

He said DDW only acquired businesses that were successful. “We don’t care about being either the biggest or smallest company. Our main aim is to be the most profitable company.'

“We have enough financing for all our current projects. A company our size does not face problems in getting funds from banks,” Bin Sulayem added.