Middle East trading companies comparisons in 2024

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
Total company engagement set up costs (US$) 28,660 70,499 31,549 29,550 25,131 22,633
Subsequent annual costs (incl audit and tax in US$) 16,570 39,940 7,950 7,050 7,662 12,180
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%

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