New Dubai business licences up more than a third in H1

The number of new business licences granted in Dubai in the first half of 2019 has increased more than 33 per cent year-on-year.

Statistics released by the Business Registration and Licensing (BRL) sector of Dubai’s Department of Economic Development (DED) showed that a total of 14,737 new business licences (a pace of about 81 per day) were issued from January to June this year, compared to 11,059 during the same period in 2018.

“During H1 2019, more businesses and investors took advantage of the emirate’s competitiveness and increasing opportunities across diverse economic sectors,” the DED said in a statement.

Of the licences issued, 52 per cent were in the commercial sector (7,648). The professional sector accounted for 45 per cent (6,722), while tourism and industry were 2 and 1 per cent (262 and 105), respectively.

The statistics also showed that just 12 per cent of the licences granted were to women.

In terms of locations, more than half of the licences issued (7,584) were for businesses in the Bur Dubai area. Deira was in second (7,135), followed by Hatta (18).

The top nationalities that secured the new business licences were people from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Great Britain, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, China, the Philippines and Sudan.

There were also 73,404 business licence renewals in Dubai in the first half of 2019.