Abu Dhabi’s ‘Business Activity Report’ reflects resilience, vitality

The “Business Activity Report” for the year 2022, issued by the Abu Dhabi Business Centre, part of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED), has reported growth of major indicators, reflecting resilience and vitality of the business sector despite challenges in the global economy.

The report also showed a high level of adherence to regulations related to consumer rights and intellectual property protection.

A total of 25,593 new economic licences were issued last year, and 73,212 licences were renewed, by the end of December 2022, indicating strong growth and confidence in the Abu Dhabi business sector.

A remarkable growth in professional, tourism and industrial new licences reaffirm the attractiveness of these sectors to investors and the ample opportunities they provide for investors.

Professional licences increased 161 per cent from 243 in 2021 to 635 in 2022. Tourism sector licences grew to 181 in 2022 from 126 in 2021, an increase of 43.6 per cent, while industrial sector licences rose to 243 from 206 licences in 2021, a 17.9 per cent rise.

According to the Business Activity Report, 23,947 commercial sector licences were issued in 2022, comprising 93.5 per cent of the total new licences. 560 Occupational and 25 agricultural, livestock and fishery sector new licences were issued in 2022.

Commenting on the report’s results, Rashed Abdulkarim Al Blooshi, Undersecretary of ADDED, said that the continued growth of new and renewed economic licences reflects the success of policies and initiatives launched by Abu Dhabi to forge ahead with its diversification strategy and the ongoing improvement of legislative and regulatory framework as well as infrastructure and digital transformation to offer compelling opportunities in different sectors to investors.

“We remain focused on constant enhancements of the public-private partnership ecosystem to allow businesses to benefit from and thrive, meet investors’ demands, and protect consumer and intellectual property as part of our efforts to achieve a knowledge-based, innovation-driven, and sustainable economy,” he added.

The report revealed that the Trademarks & Commercial Agencies Protection Department has conducted 5,169 monitoring visits and 213 inspection campaigns to ensure adherence of commercial facilities to laws and rules regulating the sector in the Emirate. The number of offences reported decreased to 420 from 479 in 2022, and 10 awareness workshops on the differences between original and counterfeit products were organised.

The Consumer Protection Department has conducted 9,147 monitoring visits and 153 inspection campaigns. It has settled 5,064 consumer complaints related to products valued at Dhs27.6 million, compared to 4,209 settled complaints in 2021. Last year, Inspection & Control Department conducted185,759 monitoring visits compared to 179,457 in 2021, while offences reported decreased from 7,080 in 2021 to 3,813 in 2021.

In 2022, the Abu Dhabi Business Centre (ADBC) has launched initiatives to enhance the business ecosystem and ensure the best conditions for investors to grow and thrive while protecting the rights of consumers and intellectual property. It has launched, in cooperation with the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department (ADJD), the consumer dispute resolution service to expedite the settlement of disputes between consumers and commercial establishments in Abu Dhabi.

Mohammed Munif Al Mansouri, Executive Director of the Abu Dhabi Business Centre, said, “As part of our ongoing efforts to ensure ease of doing business and support entrepreneurs, we expanded ‘Tajer Abu Dhabi’ (Abu Dhabi Trader) licence, which allows micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (mSMEs) to obtain the trade licence without the need to work from a physical location or having to pay rent on commercial space for three years, by adding 126 new activities to it.”

Additionally, ADDED granted 1,200 economic activities a one-year exemption from having a lease contract for work premises. We are committed to improving Abu Dhabi’s competitiveness and status as the preferred destination for business and investments.

Meanwhile the Abu Dhabi Economic Summit, set to take place on Feb.28, will bring together experts from the worlds of government, business, finance and technology to explore new frontiers of growth.

The summit is hosted by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) and organised by Economist Impact

Taking place under the theme “Looking Ahead: the new frontiers of economic growth”, the one-day summit will map the new contours of the global economic landscape, the changes in the past five years and identify the best approaches to capitalising on trends, including digitisation and sustainability.

Over 25 speakers and 300 attendees from the worlds of government, business finance and technology will gather in Abu Dhabi to consider strategies and solutions.