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Dubai Department of Economic Development Issued 11,635 Licences in 2009

DUBAI — The Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) announced that the Dubai’s economic activities in 2009 continued to surge, highlighting the investors’ trust in the economic opportunities available in the emirate and the UAE.

The DED issued 11,635 licences for various businesses in 2009. The majority of these were issued in the commercial sector recording a 76 per cent increase, followed by the professional sector (22 per cent), industrial (one per cent) and tourism (one per cent). The DED also noted an increase in the number of projects, establishments, and urban development, and consequent rise in service opportunities and activities.

Licence renewal experienced an increase by 2 per cent in 2009, with Dubai issuing 86,707 licences in total. Of the total, commercial licences topped the list recording a 76 per cent increase, followed by professional (20 per cent), industrial (2 per cent) and tourism (one per cent). The total number of modified licences issued were 39,469; of those, commercial licenses topping the list by a whopping (80 per cent), followed by professional (16 per cent), industrial (2 per cent) and tourism (2 per cent). The total number of licences that were cancelled in the year 2009 was 3,167.

Commercial permits issued by the DED in 2009 recorded a 31 per cent increase compared to the numbers in 2008, reaching 17,937 permits. Of those, 7887 permanent permits were issued. Advertising signs of trade names topped the list of issued permits in 2009 reaching (5,788), and recording a 73 per cent increase of the total permits issued, followed by additional ads, which rose by 10 per cent to 841. The total number of customers in DED’s portfolio reached (102,732) in 2009, with an average of 8,561 customers per month.

The DED issued 157 licences to foreign companies in 2009. These include licences to companies from the UK (21 per cent), followed by US (4 per cent) and Singapore (3.2 per cent).

The report stated that the total number of the top 10 activities in 2009 reached 9,184 licences, accounting for a 26 per cent increase in the total number of activities. ‘Ready-made garments’ led the list of licenced activities with 1,569 licences issued followed by ‘perfumes and cosmetics’ with 1,336 licences.

The number of inspections carried out by DED officers in the Commercial Compliance and Consumer Protection Division in 2009 reached 74,181. Of these, 55,188 visits fulfilled the required conditions, while 13,255 were fined. Implementing advertising without a permit was first on the list of violated activities. The second violation was establishing an activity without approval from the concerned bodies invited 
1951 fines.

The Intlaq scheme, an initiative of the DED to encourage more UAE nationals to set up businesses from home, reached 1,691 licences issued in 2009. The scheme’s highest growth was recorded in the trade category, with 1,480 licences issued followed by 211 licences in the professional category.

business@khaleejtimes.com