Company Setup in Dubai: Reasons to Do Business in the Emirate

July 12, 2024

• The Global Destination Cities Index shows Dubai has a distinguished global presence thanks to many vital programs and initiatives including hosting a number of international conferences and exhibitions. Expo 2020 is the most notable of these events held in Dubai, the first city in the Middle East to host it. This is positioning Dubai as the leading place to do business in the ME and a preferred platform for global trade.
• Dubai’s profile as a hub for global business events and, in particular, as one of the most popular destinations for MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, and exhibitions), is a key component of the UAE’s tourism strategy, tells Gulf Business. In fact, these opportunities are believed to increase visitor volumes, attracting foreign investment and businesses.
• In fact, “Dubai is set to double the number of visitors, from 10 million in 2012 to 20 million by 2020,” said Helal Saeed Al Merri, general manager of the Department of Tourism, Commerce and Marketing (DTCM) and CEO of Dubai World Trade Center (DWTC). The focus will be not only on commerce or event-related business but also on increasing leisure visitors and family travelers.
• UAE’s decision to grant visas on arrival to Chinese and Russian visitors has triggered a huge influx of tourists to Dubai with hoteliers reporting they’re nearly fully booked. The changes to UAE visa policies granting entry permits on arrival to certain visitors has given great prospects for higher volumes of travelers of these nationalities that can only help drive hotel demand and profitability, said Philip Wooller, Area Director of STR (a source of hotel global data) for the Middle East and Africa.
• Dubai is an attractive place to do business and has attracted foreign direct investment being“consistently pro-business and growth oriented.” A good example is the establishment of Dubai Free Zones that can suit companies with any activity from trading to consultancy. The advantages of setting up a company in a UAE free zone are many, especially in terms of less red-tape and easy bureaucracy.
• It’s worth noting that in Free Zones there are no requirements to have a local partner or agent to establish a business and there might be no minimum capital required. Each zone has its own rules and regulations regulating companies in various industry categories.
• Those that would like to register a business activity in the emirate as well as set up Free Zone companies in UAE should check with experts to make sure all bases are covered and their companies are properly established and operative from the get go.  Tasks like how to setup a corporate bank account in Dubai and UAE are much easier with the right guidance!