| Our ranking in order of preference | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 |
| Summary at a Glance | | | | | |
| Total year 1 engagement set up costs? | US$28,187 | US$30,914 | US$25,131 | US$76,390 | US$63,057 |
| Total year 2 costs (incl. audit and tax)? | US$9,850 | US$6,600 | US$7,662 | US$18,840 | US$34,840 |
| 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 |
