Middle East manufacturing companies comparisons in 2024

Middle East LLC comparisons Dubai trading LLC Qatar LLC Bahrain LLC Kuwait LLC KSA LLC
Our ranking in order of preference 1 2 3 4 5
Summary at a Glance
Our Client must travel during company setup? No No No No No
Total engagement period? 3 months 3 months 3 months 6.5 months 4.5 months
Corporation tax rate on net profits? (click link) 0% 10% 0% 15% 20%
Average monthly skilled labour salary? (click link) US$2,150 US$2,590 US$564 US$2,056 US$616
Average monthly office rental per sq m? US$42 US$50 US$25 US$50 US$25
Average monthly warehouse rental per sq m? US$30 US$30 US$10 US$10 US$10
Must be a 51% shareholder for trading business Yes Yes No Yes No
Must be a 51% shareholder for services business No Yes No Yes No
English language proficiency % of population? 78% 60% 45% 70% 40%
Incorporation requirements
How long to set the company up? 2 months 1 month 2 months 6 months 9 months
Minimum number of shareholders? 2 2 2 1 2
Individual and corporate shareholders allowed? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Minimum number of directors? 1 1 2 1 1
Resident director required? No No No No No
Minimum paid up share capital? US$1 US$55,000 US$2,660 US$50,000 US$27,000
Fast turnkey solution available? (click link) Yes No No No No
Fastest time Healy Consultants set up company? 2 months 1.5 months 2 months 1 month 2.5 months
Corporate director(s) allowed? Yes No Yes No Yes
Public register of shareholders & directors? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Tax and accounting considerations
Corporate tax payable? 0% 10% 0% 15% 20%
Withholding tax on dividends paid overseas 0% 0% 0% 15% 15%
Annual financial statements required? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Statutory independent annual audit required? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Export taxes on goods and local GST or VAT? No No No No No
Best holding company to extract dividends? Marshall Islands Hong Kong BVI Brunei Singapore
Tax incentives for manufacturing start-ups? Yes Yes No No Yes
Access to how many double tax treaties? 66 10 61 40 31
Number of tax exempt free zones available? 31 2 3 1 None
GCC member? (click link) Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Corporate bank account considerations
Healy Consultants’ preferred bank? Noor Bank Commercial Bank of Qatar Arab Bank HSBC SABB
How long to open bank account? 5 weeks 4 weeks 3 weeks 4 weeks 4 weeks
Do I travel to open the bank account? Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Can open a US$ corporate 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? 5.9 6.3 5.8 5.4 6.0
Ease of getting credit by WEF? score (1-7) 4.7 5.1 4.2 3.1 3.6
Employment considerations
Average skilled labour monthly salary? US$3,500 US$4,500 US$3,500 US$3,900 US$3,700
Average unskilled labour monthly salary? US$800 US$700 US$2,000 US$600 US$1,300
Average pension/insurance benefits % of salary? 12.5% 10% 9% 11.5% 9%
Minimum national salary? None None $800 $216 $720
Mandatory labor unions? No No No No No
Minimum notice to dismiss employees? 1 month 1 week 1 month 1 month 1 month
Minimum redundancy indemnity? 1 month 1 week N/A 2 weeks None
Quota ratio of foreign workers to local staff? 3 to 1 4 to 1 2 to 1 5 to 1 5 to 1
How long to get work permit approved? 4 weeks 4 weeks 3 weeks 3 weeks 4 weeks
Manufacturing considerations
Cost per unit of electricity? US$ 0.04 0.02 0.08 0.07 0.03
Rank for getting electricity (click link) 4 40 73 93 22
Warehousing space rental (per sq. m.)? US$30 US$30 US$10 US$10 US$13
Ranking for transport infrastructure (1-7 best) (click link) 6.6 5.3 4.7 3.7 4.8
Ranking for customs procedures out of 10? (click link) 6.0 5.4 4.7 4.7 4.3
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% 86% 79% 66% 54%
Internet connectivity rating? Strong Strong Strong Strong Poor
Global business efficiency index? (click link) 23 21 26 43 31
Preferred manufacturing city? Dubai Doha Manama Kuwait City Kuwait City
Proximity of sea port in kilometers? 11 44 13 14 495
Proximity of airport in kilometers? 31 14 7 15.5 35
Proximity of rail in kilometers? 0 0.3 0 171 1018
Literacy % of population 90% 96% 95% 93.9% 93.9%
Local purchasing power (GDP per capita) US$43,876 US$93,684 US$24,692 US$ 52,182 US$ 25,959
Local market size (in millions of people) 2m 2m 1m 4m 31m
Average annual inflation rate in 2014? 3% 3% 2.5% 2.9% 2.6%
Average unemployment rate in 2014? 2.6% 0.5% 4.1% 2.1% 5.5%
Ease of doing business index (click link) 22 50 53 86 49
Country rating (click link) AA AA BBB AA AA

Contact us

For additional information on our incorporation services, please contact our in-house country expert, Ms. Chrissi Zamora, directly:
client relationship officer - Chrissi