About UAE

A COUNTRY DESIGNED FOR BUSINESS

For two and a half millennia, the Gulf coast has been a crossroads of the world. From the Persian Royal Road to the Han Dynasty’s Silk Road, from the trading posts of the 19th century to the hypermodernity of today’s UAE, people have always converged here. The UAE enjoys a strategic location on the new Southern Silk Road between Asia, Europe and Africa, a situation that provides optimum trading conditions and means the UAE is poised to take advantage of economic activity among the world’s fastest growing and developing economies as part of the ‘South-South’ trade trajectory. Thousands of Chinese businesses use Dubai as a hub for Africa. Indian traders use the emirate to access the world. Latin American ‘multilatinas’ see Dubai as a launch pad into South Asia. And, of course, Western multi-nationals use Dubai as a hub for the Middle East. Dubai is both a unique trans-continental trade hub and a nexus for innovation in the fields of technology, culture and the wider knowledge economy.

Dubai Ranks

It is strange to imagine that 20 years ago, UAE’s cityscape was mostly sand. It is now one of the world’s most modern urban landscapes, linked by multilane highways and a technologically advanced Metro system. Indeed, in four decades, the country’s soft and hard infrastructure has developed to such an extent that the UAE today might be one of the most hyper connected places on the planet, where more than 200 different nationalities mingle daily.

UAE’s business and governance structures play an increasingly pivotal role in the global economy of a nation that continues to blossom, attracting foreign investment and creating jobs. Its position as a central hub for trade and tourism continues to bring people to UAE, allowing it to forge new partnerships and improve on the strong transport links that it has developed. The opening of new terminals at both Jebel Ali Port and Dubai World Central will further strengthen this network.

The Middle East’s top trading economy – the UAE is a dynamic hub for global commerce, with unmatched infrastructure that provides seamless connectivity for businesses worldwide.

Dubai International Airport stands alongside Paris, London and Hong Kong as the world’s busiest in terms of international passengers. Last year more than 66 million people passed through its terminals, and it is projected to have the highest footfall of any international airport by 2020. Dubai’s flag carrier, Emirates Airline, is also on track to become the biggest in the world, while Dubai ranks sixth globally measured by air cargo traffic.

UAE’s shipping ports are also among the world’s top 10 busiest, with Jebel Ali ranked as the world’s 7th largest port globally.

UAE scored 6.4 out of 7 and ranks 4th for its overall infrastructure. It ranks 1st for its quality of roads, 4th for its Port Infrastructure and 3rd for its quality of Road Infrastructure.

The UAE economy enjoys a competitive mixture of cost, market and environmental advantages that create a supreme and attractive investment climate for local and expatriate businesses alike. In fact, these advantages not only rank UAE as the Middle East’s leading multi-purpose business center and regional hub, but they place it at the top of the globes, dynamic and emerging market economies.

‘In more recent years, UAE has become a major venue for a number of growing, profitable industries. Business have preferred UAE for its.’

1. Strategic Location

  • UAE is a time zone bridge between the Far East and Europe on the East-West axis and the CIS and Africa on the north-south axis. It is an opening to a market that can be described as:
  • Large – well established trading links exist with the greater than 1.5 billion people in the neighboring region covering the Gulf, Eastern Mediterranean, Central Asia, Africa and the Asian sub-continent;
  • Growing – UAE’s total international trade has grown on average by over 11% per year since 1988 and regional economic growth and liberalization should boost demand further;

  • Prosperous – a buoyant local economy strategically located in the midst of one of the world’s richest regions and well-endowed with ample supplies of cheap energy and primary aluminum; also adjacent to major regional suppliers of vital agro-export commodities;
  • Diversified – varied and significant import requirements generate opportunities for product suppliers and re-exporters;
  • Accessible – served by over 120 shipping lines and linked via 85 airlines to over 130 global destinations;
  • Open – no exchange controls, quotas or trade barriers.

2. Political And Economic Stability

UAE Ranks 3rd – Strong public interest in politicians and attained 9th position for its high Government efficiency.

3. Open And Free Economic System

UAE’s economy has been kept open and free to entice investors and business. Government control and regulation of private sector activities has been kept to a minimum. There are no direct taxes on corporate profits or personal income (except for oil companies that pay a flat rate of 55% and branches of foreign banks that pay a flat rate of 20% on net profit generated within Dubai). Customs duties are low at 4% with many exemptions, 100% repatriation of capital and profits is permitted, there are no foreign exchange controls, trade quotas or barriers and a stable exchange rate exists between the US Dollar and the UAE Dirham (US$1.00=AED 3.678). Liberal visa policies permit easy importation of expatriate labor of various skill levels from almost all over the world.

4. World Class Infrastructure and Service Sector

UAE’s thoughtful policy of financing heavily in transport, telecommunications, energy and industrial infrastructure has enabled it to have one of the best infrastructure facilities in the world; it also contributed meaningfully both to its ongoing prosperity and attractiveness to international business. Complementing its world class infrastructure is a sophisticated service sector that features leading regional and international freight forwarders, shipping companies, insurers, major international hotels, banks and financial service firms, lawyers, accounting firms, consultants, advertising agencies, top international exhibition and conference facilities, high quality office and residential accommodation, first class hospitals, schools, shopping centers and recreational facilities.

5. Competitive Cost Structure

International companies setting up in UAE can obtain significant cost advantages not generally available internationally. The major factors are:

  • No foreign exchange controls,
  • No trade barriers or quotas,
  • Competitive import duties
  • Competitive labor costs – labor force is multi-lingual and skilled,
  • Competitive energy costs,
  • Competitive real estate costs,
  • Competitive financing costs and high levels of liquidity,
  • No taxes on personal income or on corporate profits

(except for oil companies and branches of foreign banks).

6. High Quality of Life, Excellent Living Conditions

UAE especially Dubai’s private sector has invested heavily in real estate such as hotels, residential and commercial properties, recreational and leisure facilities. In addition, a number of factors have contributed to the Emirate’s high quality of life and superior living conditions making it a model location for many to emulate. Those factors include excellent infrastructural facilities, low crime, clean environment, tolerance to cultural diversity, cosmopolitan life style, modern public administration, availability of a wide range of consumer goods and services, mild winters and clean, palm fringed beaches.

7. Strong Local Commercial Tradition and Wide Choice of Potential Business Partners

The local business class has a long tradition of trading activity and wide exposure to international business practices and state-of the- art technologies. Local entrepreneurs have already gained successful experience with international partnerships in franchising, licensing, joint ventures, etc, in various sectors of the economy.

8. Extensive Foreign Trade Network

UAE boasts an extensive foreign trade network extending to 179 states thus offering the investor an extensive choice of potential global marketing outlets for a diverse portfolio of goods and services. UAE is also part of the world’s third-largest export and re-export center after Hong Kong and Singapore.

9. Rapidly Developing Manufacturing Sector Producing a Wide Range of High Quality, Competitive Export Products

Major gains have already been made in the profitable manufacture and export of aluminum ingots, fabricated metal products, textiles and ready-made garments, gold and jewelry, prepared foodstuffs, consumer electronics, refined petroleum, chemical and non-metallic mineral products. Supportive commercial, industrial, political and economic factors are currently in place that make possible the extension of these gains to other manufacturing sub-sectors.

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