Dubai Trade Licences Up 17 %

The number of Dubai trade licences issued during the second quarter of 2012 reached 4,499, a 17 per cent increase on the same period last year.

The most licences were issued by the Dubai Department of Economic Department (DED) in the commercial, professional, tourism and industrial categories, said the government.

The tourism industry accounted for 51 per cent of business licences during the April-June period, which made it the most popular sector for industry licences.

Professional licences increased by 19 per cent and commercial licenses by 16 per cent during the same period, said Mohammed Shael Al Saadi, CEO of Business Registration and Licensing (BRL) division at DED.

Commercial licences accounted for 73 per cent of the total licences issued, he added. DED’s total transactions relating to business registration and licensing reached 158,174 during the second quarter, an increase of 22 percent year on year.

Reserved trade names increased 35 per cent to 17,385 while initial approvals touched 8,068, an increase of 28 per cent.

In May, it was reported that the number of trade licences issued in Dubai during the first three months of 2012 rose 27 per cent year-on-year to 4,343.