Incentives to Set Up a Company in Dubai
International investors planning on setting up a company in Dubai are continuing to flock to the emirate despite it sometimes being a difficult and expensive place to do business. Demand to set up a company in Jebel Ali Free Zone, for example, is in such a high demand that there is currently a waiting period of two years to attain a plot there. There are many factors and demands driving investors planning on setting up a company in Dubai including:
1. Location. Dubai's excellent strategic location can serve as middleast base as well as a gateway to other emerging Asian markets.
2. Strong vital infrastructure. The Dubai government has invested heavily in developing vital infrastructure such as telecommunications, airports, roads and ports to support investors who set up a company in Dubai.
3. Low-cost energy sources. Dubai is able to supply investors setting up a company with abundant supplies of low-cost energy.
4. 100 % Foreign Ownership. Foreign investors setting up a company in Dubai can fully own their company without the need for a local UAE citizen as shareholder.
5. Staff recruitment. Investors who set up a company in Dubai are able to recruit all the staff they require.
6. International trading. Many investors setting up a company in Dubai do so to conduct tax-efficient international trading.
7. UAE trading. Other investors who set up a company in Dubai do so purely to trade within the United Arab Emirates.
8. The Dubai Development and Investment Authority (DDIA) offers a wide range of business startup services in Dubai for investors who set up a company in Dubai. Some of these high end business startup services in Dubai include:
- Business plan preparation. Investors planning to set up a company in Dubai can ask the DDIA for help in preparing a detailed business plan as part of its business startup services in Dubai;
- Financial and legal information. For investors planning to set up a company in Dubai, the DDIA supplies macro- and micro-economic data, including legal, financial and demographic information for Dubai and the Gulf region. Many investors setting up a company in Dubai use the DDIA's business startup services in Dubai to facilitate their investment and expansion decisions;
- Raising capital for investments. The DDIA helps raise project capital for entrepreneurs to set up a company in Dubai. The DDIA's business startup services in Dubai also include introducing multinational corporations (MNCs) to potential investors;
- "Single Window Service". Investors setting up a company in Dubai have access to the DDIA's so-called 'Single Window' service, in which all business startup services in Dubai are handled under one roof. Investors planning to set up a company in Dubai find that this greatly eases the legal processes, thereby minimising the time needed for setting up a company in Dubai;
- Increase business services. Having set up a company in Dubai, investors can tap into other DDIA business startup services in Dubaito maximise their potential. For example, the DDIA assists local companies to create higher value-added functions for their business by supporting them in building expertise, innovating, growing, creating new partnership and reaching international customers.
9. The DDIA opened an office in Hong Kong in January 2006 to attract Asia Pacific-based investors interested in setting up a company in Dubai. The DDIA's Hong Kong office helps build networks and relationships between investors in Asia looking to set up a Dubai incorporation, as well as providing details of the wide range of business startup services in Dubai which are available.
10. As well as the incentives and business startup services in Dubai offered by the DDIA, investors setting up a company in Dubai benefit from additional incentives, including:
- Zero personal and corporate taxes;
- No foreign exchange controls;
- No trade barriers;
- 100% repatriation of capital and profits;
- Low labour costs.
11. Healy Consultants has helped many Clients to set up a company in Dubai. The majority of feedback we receive is that while setting up a company in Dubai is frustrating and costly, the local and regional economies are booming and the entire effort is worth the effort. Also most investors enjoy the pro-business attitude in the emirate and tend take advantage of the business startup services that Dubai has to offer. To read about our Client experiences with setting up a company in Dubai, follow this link.
Further Information
For more on Healy Consultants business startup services in Dubai, follow this link.
For more information on investing in Dubai, kindly follow this link.
Contact Us
For more information on setting up a company in Dubai or business startup services in Dubai, please email 
or telephone us at (+65) 6735 0120.
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