Dubai sees increase in new and renewed business licenses in Q2 2016

The Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai saw a marked increase in the number of transactions related to business licenses as well as the number of licenses issued during the second quarter of 2016. The transactions concluded during the quarter reached 119,630, which was 34.9% higher than the 88,688 transactions during the same period of the previous year, while the number of new licenses issued in Q2 2016 also reached 6,391, an increase of 5.6% over Q2 2015.

Meanwhile 45,295 licenses were renewed during Q2 2016 as against 29,575 during the same period of 2015, marking a growth of 53%. Commercial licenses had the largest share of the renewed licenses at 67.8% while 30% were professional licenses and industrial as well as tourism licenses each had a share of 1.1%.

The growth in licensing transactions and the larger share for commercial licenses in the quarterly index indicates the sustainability of economic activity in Dubai and the growing prominence of the city as a major shopping destination. In recent years, a number of international reports have ranked Dubai on top for the presence of leading international retail brands and for attracting shoppers from the region and worldwide.

“The latest data on business licensing confirm the growing volume of business across all sectors in Dubai and particularly in vital sectors like retailing. The overall competitiveness and ease of doing business in the local market as well as the economic policy adopted by Dubai are all reflected in the rise in licensing transactions. It also demonstrates how local businesses trust and abide by the systems put in place by the Department of Economic Development,” commented Omar Bushahab, CEO of Business Registration & Licensing (BRL) in DED.

The quarterly data shows 10,904 initial approvals were issued in Q2 2016 – up 2.2% from Q2 2015 – while the number of reserved trade names increased 7.7% to reach 16,307 during the same period. Bushahab added that the outsourced service centres of DED continued to play a pivotal role in facilitating BRL procedures for customers across various locations in Dubai.

“The outsourced service centres accounted for 69.5% of the DED transactions in the second quarter of 2016. The Tas’heel Centre in Al Twar topped the list with 41,367 transactions followed by the OnTime centre in Oud Metha at 8,788 transactions and ITQAN Business Services, at 8,611.”

Bushahab pointed out that the eagerness of the businessmen to get their licenses renewed is also reflected in 53% increase in renewals in Q2 2016 compared to the same quarter of the previous year, adding that the overall picture in Dubai showed that with every three companies exiting the market, ten new firms are coming on stream.