Commercial agents and distributors If you just intend to export goods or services to the UAE, you may want to appoint an agent, distributor or franchisee, which must be either a UAE national or a company entirely owned by UAE nationals. You should look closely at their:
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local business reputation
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regional coverage
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financial resources marketing ability
It may be necessary to appoint a series of agents or distributors to cover different Emirates in the UAE.
DIT’s trade specialists (https://www.gov.uk/ overseas-customers-export-opportunities) can help you identify local representatives for your products in the UAE. Setting up a business entity in the UAE To register a company in the UAE and submit a registration application, you must obtain approval from the Licensing Section of the Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED): http://www.dubaided. ae/English/Pages/default.aspx. When establishing a local company or other commercial entity, foreign ownership is generally limited to 49%, with the remaining 51% to be held by UAE nationals. There are five forms of recognised commercial entity: •
general partnership
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public joint stock company
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limited partnership
limited liability company (LLC) private joint stock company
Branch offices in the UAE The UAE allows foreign companies to establish a branch office. Although activities permitted vary from Emirate-toEmirate, generally a broad range of commercial activities can be undertaken.
If you are establishing a branch office, you need consent from the Ministry of Economy and a bank guarantee deposit of AED 50,000. The branch office has to be sponsored by a UAE national or a locally-registered company entirely owned by UAE nationals. A formal national agency agreement is needed where the national agent sponsors and assists the foreign company in return for a fee.
In certain businesses, you need to get the permission of a particular authority, for example the Central Bank regarding finance, or the Municipality in Dubai regarding engineering and construction.
Contact BCB to find out about incubator services for company set-up: http://www.bcbuae.com/. UAE free zones There are many UAE free zones, which offer a wide variety of benefits to businesses and a degree of flexibility including: •
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100% foreign ownership through branches, single or multiple shareholder companies – known as Free Zone Enterprises (FZEs), Free Zone Companies (FZCOs) or Free Zone Limited Liability Companies (FZ-LLC)
no national agent required for branch offices of foreign companies no customs duties on imports and re-exports (except re-exports into onshore UAE)
www.UAE.DoingBusinessGuide.co.uk
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