Dubai continues to attract investment from South Asian countries

The number of mainland business license in Dubai jumped 26.8 percent to 217,788 companies in 2023, according to Dubai Chambers.

“[The year] 2023 has been another year of landmark achievements for Dubai Chambers in which we furthered our commitment to serving our members’ interests. The record growth in the number of new member companies is a testament to our success in enhancing the competitiveness of the business community,” Abdul Aziz Abdulla Al Ghurair, Chairman of Dubai Chambers, said.

“Supporting the private sector remains a key priority for Dubai Chambers as part of our drive to achieve the wise leadership’s vision to advance sustainable development and achieve the objectives of the Dubai Economic Agenda (D33).”

Around 67,222 new companies were formed in Dubai emirate with license issued by the Dubai Economy and Tourism (DET) – the mainland business licensing and regulatory authority of the Government of Dubai. The emirate also has more than 20 economic or free zones each with separate licensing and business registration arms who collectively host nearly 100,000 businesses.

“This growth is like-for-like growth and we haven’t added any data from the free zones,” Al Ghurair, said responding to a question from The Arabian Post, at a press conference held at the Dubai Chambers today.

“Investors from the traditional markets such as India, Pakistan and other countries have established the new businesses.”

With more than 350,000 active businesses, Dubai emerges as one of the biggest business hubs in the world with a very high business-to-population ratio in a city inhabited by nearly 3.5 million people. This translates to 1 active business per 10 people living in the emirate.

Dubai Chambers – the umbrella establishment of three chambers – Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Dubai International Chamber and Dubai Chamber for Digital Economy – recorded a 4.3 percent increase in the issuance of Certificate of Origin worth Dh284.5 billion in export last year.

The UAE has signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with 20 countries including India, Indonesia and Israel that is helping trade to grow with these countries. Sultan Ahmed bin Sulayem, Chairman of Dubai International Chamber, urged UAE exporters to take advantage of the CEPA by increasing exports to these countries.

“Exporters from those countries with whom we signed CEPA agreements are taking advantage by increasing their exports to the UAE, which is a good thing,” Bin Sulayem said. “However, our traders are not taking advantage of the benefits and opportunities from the CEPA. I urge them to increase exports to these countries from the UAE and take advantage from the opportunities.”

The number of Certificate of Origin grew 1.3 percent to 735,155 issued to 13,660 exporters, said Mohammed Ali Rashid Lootah, President and CEO of Dubai Chambers.

Dubai Chamber announced the establishment of 76 new sector-specific Business Groups in 2023, bringing the total number to 105. A combined total of 145 meetings were also held with Business Groups and Councils. The chamber’s Business Advocacy sector reviewed a total of 111 laws and draft laws in cooperation with Business Groups, with the resulting recommendations achieving an adoption rate of 53 percent. Dubai Chamber of Commerce also received 141 mediation cases with a combined value of around Dh49.6 million, with 75 percent of the cases successfully settled.

“We are committed to open international offices of Dubai Chamber in 50 cities in the world. Last year we opened 16 new offices in key markets where two-way trade is growing. We currently have international offices in 31 countries,” Mohammed Ali Rashid Lootah said.

“Dubai Chambers has successfully achieved many of its strategic objectives, despite the global climate of economic uncertainty. We are committed to strengthening partnerships between the public and private sectors and driving economic growth while focusing on the interests of our members and businesses in Dubai. This year, we will continue to work closely with our partners to support the emirate’s dynamic business community through impactful initiatives, programmes, and services.”