DP World announced on February 8th the appointment of Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem as Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer with immediate effect.

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem became Chairman of DP World in May 2007 and has overseen DP World's expansion, including the acquisitions of CSX and the P&O Group to become a leading global marine terminals operator.

Deepak Parekh, Senior Independent Non-Executive Director said:

"The Board is delighted that His Excellency Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem has agreed to become Group CEO in addition to his role as Chairman. It is the unanimous view of the Independent Non-Executive Directors that Sultan is the right candidate to ensure continuity of leadership. His extensive experience and proven track-record makes him extremely well placed to lead the Group to the next level."

Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem said:

"DP World is a fantastic business that I have been proud to lead over a number of years. I look forward to taking on the additional responsibilities of Group CEO with the objective of continuing to implement our global strategy to enable global trade and drive sustained long-term value for shareholders."

DP World also warned of difficult times ahead for global trade after growth in container volumes handled by its global network of ports slowed sharply last year despite improved activity in Europe and the United Arab Emirates.

The volume of containers handled by the operator’s ports rose 2.4% on a comparable basis to 61.7 million 20-foot units in the year to end-December from the previous year, DP World said on Monday. In 2014, DP World’s container volumes increased by 8%.

The company, one of the world’s biggest ports operators with around 70 marine terminals across six continents, said the second half of 2015 was difficult for global trade operators, as various economic headwinds including currency weakness and lower commodity prices adversely impacted trade growth.