Open economies in the Middle East in 2024

UAE Qatar Jordan Israel Lebanon
Our ranking in order of preference 1 2 3 4 5
Summary at a glance
Total year 1 engagement set up costs? US$28,660 US$30,914 US$34,595 US$32,600 US$17,860
Total year 2 costs (incl. audit and tax)? US$9,850 US$6,600 US$12,970 US$11,700 US$11,100
Our Client must travel during the engagement? No No No No No
Total engagement period? 3 months 3 months 3 months 4 months 3 months
Corporation tax rate on net profits (click link)? 0% 10% 20% 23% 17%
Average monthly skilled labor salary (click link)? US$3,500 US$2,590 US$1,000 US$2,300 US$600
Average monthly office rental per sq m? US$40 US$40 US$27 US$25 US$34
Average monthly warehouse rental per sq m? US$25 US$28 US$20 US$9 US$25
Must be a 51% shareholder for trading business Yes Yes No No No
Must be a 51% shareholder for services business No No No No No
English language proficiency % of population? 70% 50% 45% 85% 40%
Incorporation requirements
How long to secure company registration number? 2 months 4 weeks 5 weeks 8 weeks 3 weeks
Minimum number of shareholders? 1 2 1 1 3
Individual and corporate shareholders allowed? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Minimum number of directors? 1 1 1 1 1
Resident director required? No No No No No
Minimum paid up share capital? US$1 US$55,000 US$70,650 US$1 US$3,400
Fast turnkey solution available (click link)? Yes No No No No
Fastest time Healy Consultants set up company? 2 months . 1 month 1 month 1 month
Special permit or license required? No No No No No
Corporate director(s) allowed? Yes No No Yes Yes
Public register of shareholders & directors? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tax and accounting considerations
Corporate tax payable? 0% 10% 20% 23% 17%
Withholding tax on dividends paid overseas 0% 0% 0% 20% 10%
Annual financial statements required? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Statutory independent annual audit required? Yes Yes Yes Yes No
Export taxes on goods and local GST or VAT? 5% 0% 16% 17% 11%
Best holding company to extract dividends? Marshall Islands Singapore Labuan Singapore UAE-RAK
Tax incentives for manufacturing start-ups? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Access to how many double tax treaties? 66 50 32 54 34
Number of tax exempt free zones available? 37 8 18 1 5
GCC member (click link)? Yes Yes No No No
Corporate bank account considerations
Healy Consultants’ preferred bank? Emirates NDB SCB SCB Union Bank HSBC
How long to open corporate bank account? 5 weeks 3 weeks 4 weeks 4 weeks 4 weeks
Do I travel to open the bank account? No No No No No
Can open a US$ or £ or € bank account? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Good internet banking available? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Funds transfer currency controls No No No No No
Bank rating by World Economic Forum? 23 9 57 18 27
Ease of getting credit by WEF? score (1-7) 3 1 25 51 76
Employment considerations
Average skilled labour monthly salary? US$3,100 US$2,590 US$1,500 US$2,300 US$800
Average unskilled labour monthly salary? US$800 US$750 US$500 US$700 US$300
Average pension/insurance benefits % of salary? 12.50% 10% 13.25% - 6-9%
Minimum national salary? US$400 US$550 US$450 US$500 US$250
Mandatory labor unions? No No No No No
Minimum notice to dismiss employees? 1 month 2 months 1 month 1 month 3 months
Minimum redundancy indemnity? 1 month 2 months 1 month 1 month 3 months
Quota ratio of foreign workers to local staff? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
How long to get work permit approved? 4 weeks 3-6 weeks 5-7 weeks 4-8 weeks 6-9 weeks
Manufacturing considerations
Cost per unit of electricity? US$ 0.04 1.9 0.23 0.17 0.02
Rank for getting electricity (click link) 4 40 44 109 54
Warehousing space rental (per sq. m.)? US$25 US$28 US$20 US$9 US$25
Ranking for transport infrastructure (click link) (1-7 best) 6.6 5.3 3.6 3.9 3
Ranking for customs procedures out of 10 (click link)? 6 5.4 4.5 4.4 3.1
Average import duty % on raw materials? 0% 0% 0% 0% 0%
Government incentives for startups? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Computer literacy % of population? 90% 90% 90% 95% 90%
Internet connectivity rating? Strong Strong Strong Strong Strong
Global business efficiency index (click link)? 23 21 54 30 -
Preferred manufacturing city? Dubai Doha Amman Tel Aviv Beirut
Proximity of sea port in kilometers? 11 1 341.4 2.4 1.5
Proximity of airport in kilometers? 31 5 19 20 7.7
Proximity of rail in kilometers? 0 5 19 20 7.7
Literacy % of population 90% 96.30% 93.40% 97.80% 93.50%
Local purchasing power (GDP per capita) US$43,876 US$97,518 US$5,422 US$37,032 US$10,058
Local market size (in millions of people) 9.57 2.1 6.5 8.1 4.5
Average annual inflation rate in 2014? 3% 3.10% 5.50% 1.50% 3.20%
Average unemployment rate in 2014? 2.60% 0.6 12.60% 6.70% 6.60%
Ease of doing business index (click link) 22 50 117 40 104
Country rating (click link) AA AA BB- A+ B-

Contact us

For additional information on our company registration services in Middle East, please contact our in-house country expert, Mr. Simon Guidecoq, directly:
client relationship officer - Simon