Sovereign’s core business is setting up and managing companies, trusts and other structures to meet the specific personal or business needs of our clients. Typically these needs would include tax planning, wealth protection, foreign property ownership and facilitating cross-border business.
The Land Department is pleased to issue the following guidelines for registering a property in the name of offshore companies:
- From 1st January 2011, only JAFZA offshore companies will be considered eligible to register their properties with the Land Department.
- The measures apply solely to new registrations after 1st Jan 2011
- Properties currently registered with the Land Department and held by companies established in other offshore jurisdictions are not affected by these provisions
Please contact us, should you wish to know more about JAFZA offshore companies for property ownership.
The Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) issued 4,101 licences for several types of businesses in Dubai in the second quarter of 2010, recording a 42% increase compared to the second quarter of 2009.
A majority of the licences was issued in the commercial sector (3,094) followed by the professional sector (914), and industry (64). 'Ready-made garments' led the list of the top 10 licensed activities in the commercial category with 536 licences issued, followed by 'Perfumes and cosmetics' with 433 and 'General trade' with 431. 'Restaurants' led the list of the top 10 licensed activities in the professional category with 135 licences issued in the second quarter, followed by 'Residences and building cleaning services' with 131, 'café' with 68, 'selling snacks' with 62, and 'men's barber' with 60. In industrial activities, 'Metal work industry for construction' led the list of the top 10 licensed activities with seven licences followed by 'Blacksmithing and welding workshops' with six, and 'Mirrors and glass work', 'Construction of metal parts ', and 'Construction of metal industry' with four licences each. The Intlaq scheme, an initiative by the Department of Economic Development to encourage more UAE nationals to set up businesses from home, recorded strong performance with 649 licences issued in the second quarter of the year, a 50% increase over the same period last year. The largest growth was recorded in the trade category with 575 licences followed by professional category with 74. The total number of transactions during the second quarter of 2010 reached 101,982 compared to 90,638 during the same period in 2009, a 13% increase. The number of renewed licenses was 22,842, while the total number of amended licenses reached 12,897 compared to 10,689 during the same period last year, a 21% increase. The total number of commercial permits reached 11,647, a 7% increase compared to the same period last year, while the total number of field inspection visits was 13,991, and the total number of 'Trade name reservation' reached 13,056 names.
Visit www.SovereignGroup.com to start your business today.
Am I an entrepreneur? I want to be my own boss but do I have it in me to become a successful business owner? How do I analyse my business skills and goals? These are some of the questions all entrepreneurs ask themselves before starting a new business. If you are not sure about any of these questions don’t worry, Sovereign Group is at hand to offer free and confidential initial business start up advice.
Each international jurisdiction presents unique challenges to start-ups. The Gulf Cooperation Council Countries (UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman) have been actively encouraging expat entrepreneurs to invest in these countries. Various incentives including zero corporate tax, zero personal income tax, full repatriation of capital and profits, 100% ownership have been on offer through some free business zones.
The United Arab Emirates remains the most entrepreneur friendly country in the Middle East. However the expat should particularly be aware of some basic start-up issues. Shareholding of non-GCC nationals in the legal structure of a limited Liability Company is restricted to 49%. Majority shareholding remains vested in a GCC national. However this legal structure is challenged by every day practice. A UAE national can, for a fix annual fee, agree to become a silent partner holding majority shares. Minority shareholder can be given powers as an attorney of the majority shareholder to manage the company without any interference. Rights of the expat investor can be further strengthened by trust and side agreements between parties. Sovereign Group has built strong relationships with UAE nationals who have proven their committeemen to investors. We will be happy to make an introduction.
Sovereign Group strategic partners can assist you in sourcing customers, staff and supplies for your business at deeply discounted prices. Finding the right location for the business is a major task. Through our real estate partners we can find best location for your business to enhance revenues.
Sovereign Group has a dedicated team to seamlessly process your trade license application. The process of incorporating your business in UAE starts with reserving a trade name and obtaining an initial approval from the Department of Economic Development. Sovereign Group will usually submit your initial approval applications at the same time as submitting their trade name approval application. The documents needed for this step vary depending on the business structure of the company. For certain businesses special permissions are required from various ministries. At this point special approvals required from ministries will be submitted. Sovereign Group has thorough knowledge of these requirements and will assist you with right documentation.
The procedures following the DED’s initial approval vary depending on the business structure. Sovereign Group will submit all of the documents you needed for the initial approval, as well as a few others, including the initial approval, the trade name approval and the final tenancy contract for the office or warehouse. If you are applying for a limited liability license, you will need to prove your capital requirements by depositing the required amount in a commercial bank and obtaining an undertaking from that bank that the deposited amount will only be released to the managers upon proof of company registration.
If one of the partners of the LLC is an existing company, a copy of that company’s memorandum must be translated, notarized at Dubai Courts needs to be submitted along with the rest of the required documents outlined by the DED. The clerk at the DED will assign a time to pick up the approved application. Return at the declared time, pay the final fees and submit an application to be inscribed in the ministry’s commercial register. Once the formal license is awarded, the company must apply to become a member of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Following the company formation, our clients obtain UAE residence and employment visas. Sovereign Group can assist in opening corporate bank accounts to support your company with internationally recognised banks such as HSBC, Standard Chartered and Citibank.
