Dubai has 18,975 Chinese investors with 5,977 business licences: DED

Over 18,975 Chinese investors own 5,977 active business licences in the emirate of Dubai, according to a report issued by the Business Registration & Licensing (BRL) sector in the Department of Economic Development (DED), Dubai.

Between 2014 and 2018, 2312 licences were issued for Chinese investors, with 371 licences issued in 2014, 424 in 2015, 396 in 2016 and 503 in 2017. Last year, 618 licences were issued to Chinese investors, an increase of 22.8 per cent over the previous year.

Over the past years, Dubai has welcomed 6,364 Chinese investors who have established businesses in various sectors. In 2014, there were 1254 registered Chinese investors for new commercial licenses, 1,222 in 2015, 1,154 in 2016, 1,309 in 2017 and 1325 investors in 2018.

Of these licences, 4,811 are Limited Liability Companies, in addition to 722 Sole Proprietorship, 337 Civil Companies, 68 Branches of Foreign Companies, 15 Limited Liability Companies, 8 Free Zone Branches, 8 Branches of Companies based in other emirates, 5 Government Commercial Liaison Offices, one General Partnership Company, one Public Joint-Stock Company and one Business Forum Licence.

The report showed that commercial activities accounted for 4628 licences, followed by professional activities with 1192 licences, 132 tourism licences and 25 industrial licenses. The number of female Chinese investors is 4,900, compared with 14075 male investors.

Readymade Garments topped the list of the ten business activities for Chinese investors, followed by Electronics, Women’s saloon, Mechanical, engineering & contracting trade, Construction, Electrical trade, Transportation, shipping & warehousing, Auto parts and Furniture.

The top five commercial activities included: clothing, footwear, gifts, textile & fabrics, and handbags & leather goods. Professional activities include: women’s salon, beauty centre, women’s health care, Hanaa Salon.

The tourism activities included: internal tour operator, tour operator, travel and tourism agent, external tour operator, and holiday rental houses, while industrial activities included metal works for buildings, office furniture, home furniture, plastic bags, and maintenance of oil and natural gas wells.

About the Department of Economic Development, Dubai:The Department of Economic Development (DED) is the government body entrusted to set and drive the economic agenda of the emirate of Dubai, UAE. DED supports the structural transformation of Dubai into a diversified, innovative service-based economy that aims to improve the business environment and accelerate productivity growth. DED and its agencies develop economic plans and policies, identify and support the growth of strategic sectors, and provide services to domestic and international investors and businesses.

Meanwhile a total of 6,377 new companies joined the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in the first four months of 2019, taking the membership growth to 20 per cent, as compared to the 5,316 members accounted for during the same period last year.

The number of renewed memberships reached 39,338 between January and April 2019, marking a year-on-year, y-o-y, increase of 3.3 per cent. Over the same period, the number of ATA Carnets issued and received grew 15.3 per cent to reach 2,439, while the value of goods for issued and received ATA Carnets rose 64.9 per cent y-o-y to Dhs1.83 billion.

A total of 78 ATA carnets were issued by the chamber in the first four months of 2019, accounting for a 32.2 per cent growth rate compared to the same period in 2018, while the value of goods covered by these documents surged 107.1 per cent to Dhs53.5 million over the same period.

Commenting on the latest performance figures, Hamad Buamim, President and CEO of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, described the membership growth as an indicator of the growing confidence among Dubai’s business community, as well as the value-added services, which the Dubai chamber members are benefitting from.

Buamim noted that the rise in membership demonstrated the positive impact of the various stimulus measures that were introduced by His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, over the last year, which have drastically improved the ease of doing business in the emirate, adding that the recently unveiled golden card system would complement such efforts and expand the competitive advantages offered by Dubai.

“Despite global challenges, Dubai is proving to be the business capital and a major destination for foreign investments. The growth in the membership and the number of ATA Carnets in the first four months of 2019 is a positive sign that our efforts to enhance the competitiveness of the private sector are bearing fruit.

Business Bureau, Gulf Today