Dubai Economy Issues 19,877 New Licences in 2017

The Business Registration and Licencing, BRL, sector in Dubai Economy witnessed 288,878 transactions, including 19,877 new licences, during the entire year, showing the activity recorded on the "Business Map" digital platform.

The "Business Map" tracks BRL activity and seeks to reflect the economic realities in Dubai by providing vital data on each category of licences including their numbers and category-wise distribution as well as investor trends on a monthly basis.

Renewal of licences accounted for 128,965 transactions in 2017 while there were also 26,029 initial approval transactions and 38,223 trade name reservations. Auto renewals constituted 47,125 transactions, instant licences 684, and e-trader licences 616.

The year also saw 24,123 transactions related to commercial permits and out of these 35.1 percent were banner advertisements, indicating strong competition among companies in marketing their products and services.

Promotional campaigns had a 23.3 percent share, followed by discounts, special offers and clearance (22 percent), summer promotions (14.0 percent) and exhibitions (2.5 percent).

The new licences issued in 2017 were distributed across sectors as follows: commercial (64.3 percent), professional (33.8 percent), industrial (1.1 percent) and tourism (0.9 percent).

The outsourced service centres of Dubai Economy played a major role in service delivery accounting for almost 80 percent (231,902) of the BRL transactions in 2017.

Area-wise Bur Dubai and Deira topped the list of new licences issued with a share of 9,032 each, followed by New Dubai (1,753) and Hatta (70). The top ten sub-regions that had 51.5 percent of the new licences are as follows: Burj Khalifa (12.8 percent ), New Dubai (8.8 percent ), Al Marar (6.9 percent ), Naif (5 percent ), Port Saeed (4.5 percent ), Trade Centre 1 (3.7 percent ), Hor Al Anz East (3 percent ), Al Garhoud (2.4 percent ), Al Barsha (2.3 percent ) and Al Karama (2.1 percent ).

The distribution and diversity of business activity monitored in 2017 further confirms Dubai’s pre-eminence as a business destination in terms of competitiveness and sustainability.

Trade and repair services accounted for 33.8 percent of the economic activities in the emirate, followed by real estate, leasing and business services (22.4 percent ), building and construction (15.2 percent ), community and personal services (10.8 percent ), hospitality and hotels (6.3 percent ), transport and storage (3.2 percent ), manufacturing (2.9 percent ), financial brokerage (2.2 percent ), health and labour as well as agriculture (0.7 percent each) and education had a 0.6 percent share.

Among the new licences issued in 2017, 12 percent went to women. The top nationalities among the new licence holders were Indians, Pakistanis, and Egyptians, followed by Saudis, Britons and GCC nationals. Saudis ranked second in terms of market share, followed by Omanis, Kuwaitis and finally Bahrainis in that order.