DED issues 1,177 licences in January 2008

The majority of these were issued in the commercial sector (933), followed by the professional sector (213), industrial (16) and tourism (15), according to a comprehensive report prepared by the Economic Affairs Division at the DED.

'General trade' led the list of the top 10 licensed activities in the commercial category with 121 licences issued, followed by 'ready made garments' with 95, 'real estate brokerage' with 95, 'watches and accessories' with 83 and 'perfumes and cosmetics' with 77.

In January, DED issued 18 new licences to branches of foreign firms from the Germany, Bermuda, United States, India, South Korea, China and elsewhere.

The Intlaq scheme, an initiative by the Department of Economic Development to encourage more UAE nationals to set up businesses from home, received strong response with 49 licences issued in January 2008, a 63 per cent increase from January 2007. The largest growth was recorded in the trade category, with 35 licenses issued.

Limited liability companies (LLCs) topped the list of issued licences according to legal status, with 630 licences issued in January followed by Individual corporations with 469. The total number of transactions during January 2008 reached 34,276. 'Licence renewal' topped the list of transactions with 6,191 (18 per cent) followed by 'Commercial permits' with 6,138 (18%) 'Licences amendment' with 4,788 (14%) and 'Trade Names' with 4,046 (12%).