Abu Dhabi is one of the most thriving business environments that promises an ideal spot to establish and flourish your business. The capital of the UAE, Abu Dhabi, is the wealthiest emirate of the country in terms of GDP and per capita income and contributes significantly to the economy of UAE. The emirate ranks high in terms of ease of doing business, as the rules and regulations of setting up business is flexible and easy in Abu Dhabi.
Abu Dhabi is strategically located and is home to some of the most renowned global conglomerates.
Starting a business in Abu Dhabi involves the below steps,
- Determining the activity and legal form
- Registration of trade name
- Issuance of an initial approval
- Obtaining approvals from the authorities concerned
- Issuance of license
One can establish a company in Abu Dhabi mainland or free zone. The types of company formations are Limited liability company(LLC), branch of local (UAE) company, branch of the Foreign company, free zone, a public joint stock company, establishment and private stock company.
There are currently 8 free zones in Abu Dhabi;
- Abu Dhabi Airport Free Zone (ADAFZ)
Abu Dhabi Airport Business City provides complete warehousing and fully serviced office solutions to a vast array of sectors such as aviation, aerospace, and logistics.
- Abu Dhabi Global Markets (ADGM)
ADGM is an international financial centre that acts as a key pillar of Abu Dhabi’s Economic Vision. The free zone provides wide range of services such as banking, insurance, wealth management, asset management and capital market activities.
- Industrial City of Abu Dhabi
ICAD is home to more than 355 manufacturing companies with over 30,000 workers. It is a hub for manufacturing and heavy & light Industries.
- KIZAD
KIZAD is the integrated trade, logistics and industrial hub of Abu Dhabi which is expected to contribute up to 15% of the emirate’s non-oil GDP by 2030.
- Twofour54
Home to more than 400 media and entertainment companies, that includes big names such as CNN, Sky News Arabia and Cartoon Network Studios, Twofour54 offers a comprehensive range of services to media businesses and professionals.
- ZonesCorp
ZonesCorp, located at the heart of Abu Dhabi, houses more than 600 renowned global companies from many sectors. It is the largest operator of purpose-built industrial zones in the UAE.
- Masdar City Free Zone
An emerging hub for clean technologies and renewable energy, Masdar city free zone, was developed with the vision to transform the city into “the pre-eminent source of renewable energy, knowledge, development, implementation and the world’s benchmark for sustainable development.”
The advantages of setting up business in Abu Dhabi free zones are many. They offer complete foreign ownership; full repatriation of profits and capital and they also promise exemption from taxes on personal or corporate income and from import and export customs duty for goods and services.
Abu Dhabi is a growing entrepreneurial hub that offers plethora of options to investors, be it any sector. The flexible regulations coupled with top notch infrastructure makes Abu Dhabi a perfect destination to setup your business.