BizX Trading, the international division of the US-based BizXchange (BizX), a leading corporate business-to-business barter exchange, was officially launched today (June 10) in Dubai.

BizX plans to develop its Dubai operation to become the company's international barter hub. With offices in Seattle and San Francisco and affiliates in Singapore, Turkey, Malaysia, the UK and Australia, BizX aims to create an international barter market in Dubai to benefit its business partners around the world.

According to the latest World Trade Organization (WTO) statistics, 15 per cent of the $5.62 trillion in international trade is conducted on a non-cash basis. The International Reciprocal Trade Association (IRTA) also revealed that the commercial trade industry (barter transactions) accounts for more than $10 billion in sales each year, and growing at an annual rate of eight per cent.

'The Middle East region is very familiar with barter and the practice is still very prevalent today on an immense scale,' said CEO of BizX Bob Bagga.

'From the outset, our business model was based on a concept of creating a multilateral barter trade market where companies can exchange products and services without having to dig into their cash reserves. This philosophy has generated $150 million in barter transactions since 2004 and has saved our business partners $20 million in 2006 alone,' he added.

In the past, most barter transactions were strictly bilateral and the parties involved in the barter transaction were limited to only the products and services that each had to offer to the other.

They also faced other challenges such as tracking, fulfillment and accounting. Today, however, this type of transaction has been transformed into a sophisticated business practice.

The use of BizX as a trading platform expands the ability to trade by allowing companies to buy and sell products and services with a variety of other exchange partners.

Any company with excess inventory, perishable assets or downtime can 'sell' this spare capacity to BizXchange and in return 'buy' back the equivalent value in a variety of products and services from other BizXchange partners.

BizX provides companies an innovative tool that allows them the ability to conserve cash, generate new business and turn excess capacity or idle inventory into the products and services they need.

BizX has a wide range of clients and inventories world-wide including Viacom, Yahoo!, Clear Channel Media, Tribune Media, USA Today, Forbes Magazine, Regal Bank, Titan Outdoor, Ticketmaster, Holiday Inn, Marriott and Southwest Airlines to name a few.

In 2006, BizXchange has been named to the Fastest Growing Companies' list in Washington and the San Francisco Bay Area.

It also has been honoured with the US Chamber of Commerce Blue Ribbon Business Award in recognition of the company's dedication to excellence in several categories and is only one of two barter companies in the world to be certified by the International Reciprocal Trade Association.Trade Arabia News Service