Dubai issued 24,662 new business licences in Q1 2022, up 58% y-on-y

Dubai issued 24,662 new business licences in Q1 2022, an increase of 58 per cent compared to Q1 2021, during which 15,580 licences were issued.

The figures were shared by the Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) in Dubai in its Q1 2022 report developed by the DET’s Business Registration and Licensing (BRL).

The report noted that 57 per cent of the new business licences issued during Q1 2022 were professional and 43 per cent were commercial.

Bur Dubai accounted for the largest share (16,577) of these new licences, followed by Deira (8,066) and Hatta (19), while the top sub-regions were: Al Fahidi, Al Marrar, Burj Khalifa, Dubai Investment Park 1, Port Saeed, Al Quoz 3, Naif, Trade Centre 1, Hor Al Anz East and Al Barsha 1.

Among the legal forms of the new licences issued, sole establishment companies topped the list with 33 per cent, followed by civil companies with 26 per cent and limited liability companies at 19 per cent.

.@Dubai_DED has issued its first-quarter 2022 report on the business environment. The report developed by the DET’s Business Registration and Licensing sector shows that 24,662 new business licenses were issued in Q1 2022, a growth of 58% from Q1 2021.https://t.co/7ZQMUCWj8q pic.twitter.com/PVLDFcDpry

— Dubai Media Office (@DXBMediaOffice) April 10, 2022

The legal forms also included: one-person Limited liability companies, branches of companies based in other emirates, branches of foreign companies, branches of freezone companies, branches of GCC companies, and public shareholding companies, according to the Dubai Media Office.

A total of 136,034 business registration and licencing transactions were completed during Q1 2022, an increase of 36 per cent compared to Q1 2021, when total transactions reached 99,741.

The number of initial approvals reached 19,835, a growth of 43 per cent compared to the same period last year (13,914), while trade name reservations reached 22,112, an increase of 29 per cent compared to Q1 2021 (17,133).

The BRL sector reported that 7,492 instant licences were issued during Q1 2022, up 310 per cent compared to the corresponding period last year during which 1,828 licences were issued. The instant license service allows applicants to obtain a commercial licence within five minutes on the Invest in Dubai platform to establish and conduct business in Dubai. Businesses can obtain their licence in a single step without having a company lease or location for the first year.

In the neighbouring emirate of Abu Dhabi, there were 25,427 new licences issued in 2021, an increase of 21.5 per cent compared to the previous year’s figure of 20,925 licences, according to Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED).

Read: Abu Dhabi reports 21.5% growth in new economic licences in 2021

Recently released figures indicated that the UAE’s GDP for 2021 at constant prices increased 3.8 per cent, according to statistics shared by the Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre. Its GDP stood at Dhs1.489tn, with the growth rate exceeding the estimates and expectations of international institutions, which earlier forecasted a growth of 2.1 per cent for 2021.

Read also: UAE’s GDP grows 3.8 per cent in 2021, beating international expectations