Middle East trading companies comparisons in 2025
| Summary at a Glance | Dubai | Saudi Arabia | Qatar | Oman | Bahrain | Abu Dhabi |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Type of entity | Trading LLC | 100% SAGIA trading LLC | Trading Joint Venture LLC | 70% LLC | LLC | Trading LLC |
| How long to set the company up? | 2 months | 7 months | 1 month | 6 weeks | 3 months | 2 months |
| How long to open company bank account? | 5 weeks | 3 months | 4 weeks | 6 weeks | 4 weeks | 4 weeks |
| Issued paid up share capital required (US$) | 1 | 8M | 55,000 | 390,000 | 2,660 | 1 |
| Corporate bank account location | Emirates NBD | Alinma Bank | SCB Qatar | HSBC Oman | Arab bank | Emirates Islamic |
| Tenancy agreement required before incorporation? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Do you travel for company incorporation? | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Do you travel for bank account opening? | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Resident director required? | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Incorporation requirements | ||||||
| National shareholder required? | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Minimum number of directors | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Minimum number of shareholders | 2 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
| Resident company secretary required? | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
| Individual shareholders allowed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Corporate shareholders allowed | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Corporate director(s) allowed | No | No | No | No | No | No |
| Public register of shareholders and directors | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Tax and accounting considerations | ||||||
| Corporate tax payable % | 0% | 20% | 10% | 15% | 0% | 0% |
| Statutory audit required | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Annual tax return to be submitted | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Access to how many double tax treaties? | 66 | 31 | 37 | 31 | 61 | 66 |
| Tax exempt free zones available | 31 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 4 |
| Resident company for local tax purposes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Withholding tax payable | 0% | 5-15% | 0% | 10% | 0% | 0% |
| How long to get work permit approved | 1 month | 2 months | 1 month | 1 month | 1 month | 1 month |
| Can the entity hire expatriate staff in the country? | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Logistics considerations | ||||||
| Allowed to sign sales contracts with local clients | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Allowed to invoice local clients | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Average monthly salary of skilled labour | US$3,500 | US$3,700 | US$4,500 | US$4,000 | US$3,500 | US$3,500 |
| Average monthly salary of unskilled labour | US$800 | US$1,300 | US$700 | US$1,000 | US$2,000 | US$800 |
| English spoken by what % of the population (estimate) | 78% | 40% | 60% | 30% | 45% | 50% |
| Literacy rate % | 94% | 95% | 97% | 91% | 96% | 94% |
| Office rental per square meter per month | US$65 | US$25 | US$58 | US$25 | US$20 | US$45 |
| Warehouse rental per square meter per month | US$30 | US$13 | US$30 | US$13 | US$10 | US$20 |
| Country credit rating | AA | A+ | AA | Ba1- | BBB- | AA |
| Internet connectivity rating | Fair | Fair | Strong | Fair | Strong | Fair |
| GDP per capita (US$) | US$68,600 | US$52,200 | US$143,400 | US$39,700 | US$51,700 | US$64,500 |
| Government liberal or controlling of daily business | Moderate | Moderate | Moderate | Strict | Liberal | Moderate |
| Population % tertiary enrollment | 25% | 41% | 12% | 29% | 29% | 25% |
| Global competitiveness ranking (1-6) | 5.11 | 5.10 | 5.24 | 4.64 | 4.45 | 5.11 |
| Ease of doing business global ranking 2018-2019 (lower the better) | 11 | 92 | 83 | 78 | 62 | 11 |
| Population (million) | 9.4 | 33 | 2.4 | 4.69 | 1.44 | 9.4 |
| Unemployment rate | 4% | 6% | 8.9% | 3.1% | 4% | 4% |
| Inflation rate (2017) | 2% | -0.9% | 0.4% | 1.6% | 1.4% | 2% |
| GDP 2018 US$ billion | 696 | 1.7 trillion | 340 | 190 | 71 | 696 |
| Average annual growth (2017) | 0.8% | -0.9% | 1.6% | -0.9% | 3.8% | 0.8% |
