If you are planning to set up a business and haven’t yet decided where you will be based, here are 11 reasons why the UAE should be your first and only choice.
The UAE has become a top global destination for businesses focusing on innovation and artificial intelligence, entrepreneurship, as well as for attracting foreign investments, which led to an improvement in its rankings on international indicators related to business and investment attractiveness.
The country provides various incentives for investors, supports entrepreneurship, and encourages the establishment of more companies to help diversify national income sources.
By continuously enhancing its economic environment to attract foreign investments, the UAE aims to strengthen the role of investments in its national economy.
Here are 11 benefits and incentives extended to investors in the UAE:
15 minutes to start a business
Basher, a digital platform for investors and entrepreneurs, offers a complete range of government services required to conduct business in the country.
Basher is a completely new tool for setting up a business through an intelligent and unified digital platform that offers simple and secure procedures, and allows investors and entrepreneurs to obtain a business licence without having to visit any government office.
100% ownership of companies
Following the promulgation of the Commercial Companies Law in 2020, investors of all nationalities will be able to fully establish and own companies in the UAE, and the presence of a UAE national agent will no longer be required.
40 free zones for setting up a business
The UAE offers more than 40 free zones, which allow foreign investors to own 100 per cent of their companies, and the country offers investors flexibility in choosing the appropriate free zone in which to establish their companies. The free zones are spread throughout the country and allow the practice of all economic activities.
2,000 economic activities
Foreign investors in the UAE can invest in trade, industry, agriculture, services, education, health, construction and many others, with more than 2,000 economic activities available. The law excludes a very limited number of activities of strategic importance.
Legal forms of companies
Following the issuance of Federal Law No. (26) of 2020 on Commercial Companies, foreign investors are allowed to own all legal forms of commercial companies, such as “public joint stock companies, private joint stock companies, limited liability companies, simple recommendation companies, and solidarity companies”.
Boards of joint stock companies
The UAE Commercial Companies Law does not require that the chairman of the board of directors or the majority of the board members be UAE nationals, giving foreign investors the right to fully control their shares in companies, unless any decree or decision stipulates otherwise.
No minimum capital requirement
UAE law also directs investors to specify the capital in the articles of incorporation and articles of association. However, there is no minimum capital requirement for limited liability companies, making it easier for investors to set up companies and establish businesses, giving investors greater flexibility in planning their projects.
No income tax and full profit remittance
The UAE imposes no income tax on individuals. Individuals and investors are free to fully repatriate their profits, and these incentives are advantages that investors in the UAE have historically enjoyed since the country’s free-market model has been followed since the country’s founding.
Golden residency for investors
The UAE applies a long-term residency visa system, for periods ranging from five to 10 years, for investors, entrepreneurs and talented individuals. This allows UAE residents and their families who wish to reside, work, live and study in the country to settle down, establish their businesses and enjoy a long stay.
Ease of contracting professional labour
The UAE is considered an incubator for competencies, skilled labour and human capital with talent in vital and important economic sectors, due to its flexible labour policies and ease of bringing in foreign labour. The UAE’s growing labour sector has made it possible to build a highly specialised cadre in various disciplines.
Low tariffs
Low tariffs have helped establish the UAE as a global center for trade, with government tariffs ranging from zero to 5 percent. As a result, the UAE is a global and regional leader in trade, ranking third in the world and first in the Arab world in re-exports.
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