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Relocation of firms, professionals to UAE gains pace

The UAE also offers more than 40 Free Zones, 20 of which are in Dubai. These zones allow foreign business owners to benefit from complete lifetime tax exemption and 50 years of corporate tax exemption

The UAE’s world-class ease of doing business environment, investor-friendly legislative ecosystem, and trail-blazing reforms have positioned the nation as a global destination of choice for international companies, professionals, and talents to relocate.

After being elevated to 11th place globally from 21st position by the World Bank in ease of doing business in 2022, the UAE saw an increased pace of migration by corporates and professionals keen to take advantage of the vibrant investment landscape underpinned by sweeping reforms and policies that facilitate and speed up the establishment of companies through electronic platforms.

According to Dr Thani Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, dozens of international companies are setting up regional bases in the UAE attracted by the nation’s ongoing drive to reinforce its status as a global tech hub. The drive is part of the NextGen FDI initiative that seeks to attract advanced technology companies from all over the world with a spate of incentives. These include making licensing and financing easier, offering golden visas, providing commercial and residential lease incentives, relocation guidance, cloud infrastructure, and affordable education for families.

The minister was hopeful that scores of firms would announce their relocation to the Emirates before the end of the year.

“As a global mobility service provider, we have witnessed that the number of c-suite executives looking to settle in the UAE is significantly higher than in other countries in the world. We have also observed that people who choose the UAE for business, employment, or retirement, make it their permanent nest. As a niche service provider for mobility services, we have handled 468 moves in the past 8 months that is from April 2022 to November 2022,” pointed out Simon Mason, chief operating officer and chief revenue officer, Writer Relocations, a key player in the global relocation industry.

The UAE also seeks to attract firms in sectors including food technology, robotics, and blockchain, and encourage them to set up global or regional headquarters in the Middle Eastern business hub. Dubai and Abu Dhabi are already home to the regional headquarters of a large number of global technological and financial firms.

According to the minister, the timing was very crucial because many companies would like to move from elsewhere because of inflation, and the tighter regulatory environment in many parts of the world, including Asia, especially Singapore and Hong Kong.

The World Bank’s top ranking makes the UAE the first regional economy to secure a place in the top 20 categories even though the country has led the Arab world for the past six years. According to the World Bank, the UAE has carried out four different significant economic reforms such as the elimination of fees for industrial and commercial connections and easy-to-pursue improvements to the online registration system for new businesses.

“The UAE is one of the world's fastest-growing markets and has become the destination of choice for millions of expat professionals and their families. Renowned for its secured business environment, rising economy, world-class career opportunities and strong regulatory structure, the UAE has firmly established itself as one of the world’s most liveable countries,” added Mason.

The UAE’s success is underpinned by its commitment to providing expatriates with unique life experiences, and high living standards that not just surpass those of their home countries, but rate among the world’s best overall. While the country is home to a melting pot of cultures, people from over 210 nationalities choose to move into it as their home, said Mason.

The UAE also offers more than 40 Free Zones, 20 of which are in Dubai. These zones allow foreign business owners to benefit from complete lifetime tax exemption and 50 years of corporate tax exemption.

According to the UAE Ministry of Economy, several factors come into play to create today’s thriving environment, including business-friendly policies and regulations, a liberal tax regime, a 15-minute business set-up process through the e-Basher platform, complete business set-up in 15-30 days, the opportunity for 100 per cent foreign ownership (updated in June 2021), a liberal and free trade regime, business is conducted in English; strategic location for trading with GCC countries and Asia, and availability of a 10-year golden visa for entrepreneurs.

— issacjohn@khaleejtimes.com