Dubai, situated on the Persian Gulf coast of the United Arab Emirates with 4,110 square kilometer of land area is a city of endless experiences. It is not wrong to say that the city has emerged as " A Land of Opportunities" with its vibrant economy making it as a major business center with dynamic and diversified business environment.
Changing itself over the last three decades, Dubai's credential as the place to do business has been supported with its new ranking naming it the third "most dynamic" city after San Francisco and London (Source: City Momentum Index - Jones Lang Lasalle). With the growth that Dubai is currently going through and the highest standard of comfort and luxury being offered by the city, the business activities are certain to grow even more in the years to come.
Ease of Doing Business
Dubai has been gaining momentum in its economy and is being considered as the third most dynamic city for doing business. Lets see how the business regulations and its enforcement in United Arab Emirates supports the ease of doing business in this region. Dubai's economy enjoys a competitive combination of cost, market and environmental advantages that has created an attractive investment climate for the locals as well as the expatriates.
With new firms entering into Dubai's market, innovative products and creation of job opportunities have contributed Dubai to become a prosperous city in the region. "Doing Business 2014" - A co-publication of The World Bank and the International Finance Corporation, have ranked UAE at 23rd place for Ease of doing business out of 189 economies by taking into consideration various key business indicators.
So what are the economic and the business indicators that are considered by the World Bank for ranking. The procedures, time taken for starting a business, access to electricity, loans, taxes, rights of the investors are some of them which are mainly focused by the World Bank and IFC. The diagram below shows where UAE stands in the individual indicators ranking.
The comparative analysis of the indicators for year 2013 and 2014 show how much improvements have been done by UAE in one year. What are the reforms made by UAE that helped it climb three places up to 23rd in year 2014?
- Getting Electricity - Eliminated the need for the site inspection and reduced the time for providing the new connection.
- Registering Property - Increased the operation hours of the land registry and reduced the transfer fee.
- Protecting Investors - Introduced greater disclosure requirements for related party transaction and made it possible to sue the directors, when any of such transaction harm the company.
The country is making improvements to invite more foreign investments and make the country prosper. Some of the areas where UAE is improving in order to go up in the ranking for Ease of doing Business as per Doing Business Index are:
- UAE is ranked 100th in enforcing contracts (moving one rank up from 2013) taking 524 days to resolve a dispute, counted from the momentum the plaintiff files the lawsuit in the court until payment. Luxembourg is ranked number 1 in enforcing contracts.
- UAE is ranked 101st in resolving insolvency (moving one rank up from 2013) taking 3.2 years to finish the settlement for closing a business.
With continuous improvements in its economic reforms and regulations, Dubai is definitely a hub for the investors to do business. Among the Middle East & North African (MENA) region, UAE is ranked at the top in Doing Business Index.
This makes Dubai the most preferred place to do business in the MENA region. It would not be any surprise that we will be seeing Dubai at first place for Dynamic City in City Momentum Index in some years now. To get more detailed insight on starting a Business in UAE, you can check the report from World Bank " Doing Business in UAE"
As rightly said by many people, "Dubai - A City of Endless Experiences and The Land of Opportunities".
