Dubai Economy on Tuesday announced that it registered a four per cent growth in new licences last year despite the Covid-19 pandemic and slowdown in the global economy.

Dubai’s Department of Economic Development, or Dubai Economy, said that it issued 42,640 new licences last year as against 40,891 new licences issued in 2019. It also recorded 15 per cent surge in licence renewals last year and said latest data reflects the resilience of the national economy.

According to a recent report of Dubai Economy’s Business Registration & Licensing (BRL) sector, 64 per cent of the new licences issued in 2020 were professional (27,307), 35 per cent were commercial (14,754) and the rest were distributed among tourism and industrial activities.

“The latest figures reflect the UAE’s and Dubai’s resilience as well as the emirate’s economic competitiveness, including its ability to provide businesses high-growth opportunities in various economic sectors,” Dubai Economy said.

Bur Dubai accounted for the largest share (22,276) of new licences followed by Deira (20,293), and Hatta (71). The top sub-regions were Al Khabaisi, Al Fahidi, Al Garhoud, Trade Centre 1, Burj Khalifa, Port Saeed, Oud Al Muteena 3, Oud Metha, and Hor Al Anz East.

Shailesh Dash, an entrepreneur and financier, said Dubai economy strengthened last year despite severe challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. He said credit goes to the government’s and its visionary leaders who took timely measures to contain the damage from the Covid-19 crisis.

“Dubai announced five stimulus packages to help Covid-affected businesses, taking the overall value of business incentives introduced by the emirate’s government to Dh7.1 billion,” Dash said.

The figures demonstrate the UAE’s success in maintaining its growth and development momentum and reinforcing its position as a leading global economic and business destination. The increase in new licences also shows the private sector’s growing role as a key partner in Dubai’s economic development as well as the emirate’s constant efforts to provide a supportive environment and infrastructure for local and international businesses.

According to the report, 346,375 business registration and licensing transactions were completed in 2020, a growth of three per cent compared to 2019 (337,752). The figures highlight Dubai Economy’s vital role in providing value-added services to businesses in Dubai. The report also showed that Licence Renewals accounted for 162,762 transactions in 2020, a 15 per cent growth compared to 2019 (141,788).

“Dubai has done it again. Despite the challenging year affected by the pandemic, Dubai and its government departments have been very resilient and the various stimulus packages introduced by the government has proved to be a real boon for the businesses,” said Nazim Munshi, director at business consultancy Enterprise House.

She said professional and consultancy fields have shown more confidence.

“With the positive data of 2020 this year 2021 is expected to be even better. The business community has shown the trust they have in Dubai and UAE and such positive sentiment shall continue further with the opening up of opportunities in Qatar,” she said.

The growth validates the positive impact of the economic stimulus package launched by His Highness Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, which allowed commercial licenses to be renewed without lease contracts.

Auto Renewal via text messages accounted for 92,576 transactions in 2020, a 36.5 per cent growth from 2019 (67,813). The number of Trade Name Reservations reached 51,170, Initial Approvals totalled 40,932, and Commercial Permits touched 10,680.

Highlighting the importance of collaboration between the government and private sectors, Dubai Economy noted that the private sector’s competitive and value-added projects play a key role in advancing the emirate’s economic development.

Dubai Economy strives to deliver solutions that contribute to enhancing ease of doing business in the emirate and expanding investment and growth, which in turn help create more new job opportunities and maintain a sustainable economy.

Source:https://www.khaleejtimes.com/business/dubai-economy-issues-42640-new-licenses-in-2020