Overseas Market Information for UAE Investors

Overseas Information
Overseas Market Information
United Arab Emirates (UAE) (...continued from previous issue)

Investing in UAE Foreign Direct Investment 2009 2010 2011
FDI in figures
Potential Index**, Ranking - - 19
UAE is the primary recipient of direct foreign investments on 177 Economies
on the Arabian Peninsula. The main investors in the UAE Number of Greenfield 232 214 257
are Great Britain, Japan and India. After reaching a Investments***
record high in 2008, then failing in 2009, FDI flows FDI Inwards (in % of GFCF****) 4.6 6.8 9.5
stagnated in
2010 and 2011. FDI stocks are concentrated in FDI Stock (in % of GDP) 26.7 26.1 23.7
hydrocarbons
and water and electricity production. The advantages of the
Emirates are the country’s easy access to oil resources, (Source : UNCTAD - Last Available Data.)
low energy costs, willingness to diversify the economy and Note : * The UNCTAD Inward FDI Performance Index is Based
high purchasing power. The absence of direct tax on on a Ratio of the Country’s Share in Global FDI Inflows and its
companies (excluding banks, oil companies and telecom Share in Global GDP. ** The UNCTAD Inward FDI Potential
operators) and people, of exchange controls and any Index is Based on 12 Economic and Structural Variables Such
limitations on repatriation of capital, as well as the as GDP, Foreign Trade, FDI, Infrastructures, Energy Use, R&D,
existence of a banking sector that is both solid and Education, Country Risk. *** Green Field Investments Are a
Form of Foreign Direct Investment Where a Parent Company
profitable and a large pool of expatriate workforce
Starts a New Venture in a Foreign Country By Constructing New
constitute its undeniable benefits. The country’s main Operational Facilities From the Ground Up. **** Gross Fixed
weakness is the small size of its domestic market. Capital Formation (GFCF) Measures the Value of Additions to
Fixed Assets Purchased By Business, Government and
Country Comparison For the Protection of Investors Households Less Disposals of Fixed Assets Sold Off or
Scrapped.
UAE Middle East USA Germany
& North Africa Why you should choose to invest in UAE
Strong points
Index of Transaction 4.0 6.3 7.0 5.0
Transparency* The strengths of the country are :
Index of Manager’s 7.0 4.6 9.0 5.0 - Not directly taxing corporations (apart from oil, banking
Responsibility** and insurance sectors) and individuals;
Index of Shareholders’ 2.0 3.4 9.0 5.0 - absence of exchange control or of any constraint
Power*** relating to repatriation of funds;
Index of Investor 4.3 4.8 8.3 5.0 - a solid and profitable banking sector and favourable
Protection**** regulations for foreign investments;
- The geographical situation of the country makes it a
(Source : Doing Business - Last Available Data) potential platform to influence the whole of the Gulf,
Note : *The Greater the Index, the More Transparent the Iran, Asia and Middle-East;
Conditions of Transactions. **The Greater the Index, the More - Lastly, the country has a cheap foreign labour force,
the Manager is Personally Responsible. *** The Greater the very good transport and production infrastructures
Index, the Easier it Will Be For Shareholders to Take Legal (financed by hydrocarbon income) and an access to low
Action. **** The Greater the Index, the Higher the Level of cost energy.
Investor Protection.
Weak points
There are legal obstacles for foreign investments.
Foreign Direct Investment 2009 2010 2011 Performance Index*, Ranking 41 62 87
on 181 Economies
FDI Inward Flow (million USD) 4,003 3,948 -
FDI Stock (million USD) 72,227 76,175 -
Engineering Export Info-Bulletin, Vol. 14, Combined Issue Nos. 43 & 44, October 22 & 29, 1
2012
Effectively, the interdiction (except for free zone) of more Moreover, the obligation for recourse to a local service
than 49% of shareholding of a local company for a agent for the branches and representative offices of
foreign investor constitutes a significant hindrance. foreign companies represents a limit.
Government measures to motivate or restrict FDI
from the concerned Diplomatic Mission (in case of
The government announced a certain number of Diplomats or Officials working in a Diplomatic
measures, for example removal of the obligation of the Mission).
capital holding of 51% by a national or even the opening
of banking and insurance sectors for foreign investors. Till 2. A duly filled in Application Form (which can be
now not much progress has been made. However you downloaded from the Embassy website), signed by
can notice the flexibility of rules of access to real estate the applicant.
property for foreigners in Emirates of Dubai, Sharjah and 3. Two passport size photographs (one photograph
Abu Dhabi. pasted on the form and second photograph clipped
Visa Information with the form).
Visas & passport for travel to the UAE 4. Photocopy of the Passport.
1. General Information These documents can be submitted in the Embassy from

9:00 am to 12:00 noon, Monday to Friday. The Embassy
All Indians with Indian passports valid for more than six
months can enter the UAE. of UAE takes 3 to 4 working days to process the Visa.
Tourist visa for an Indian National, holding an ordinary
2. Visa on Diplomatic and Official Passports
passport, is arranged by a sponsor in UAE. It can also be
The Embassy issues visas on Diplomatic and Official obtained on booking a hotel in UAE or through the
Passports only. The documents required for this are :
Emirates Airlines Office or the Air Arabia Office or through
1. A Note Verbale from the Indian Ministry of External a Travel Agent in India.
Affairs (in case of Indian Government Officials) or
Operating a Business in UAE

Setting up a company
Legal business entities
Types of Companies and Capital (Max/Min) Number of Partners/Shareholders and Liability

Sole Proprietorship is an individual company 1 person.
No minimum capital. The individual entrepreneur is responsible for assets of the
company over his personal goods.
Public Joint-stock Company Shares freely transferable but 51%must be held by UAE nationals.
Minimum AED 10 million Their responsibility is limited to the amount of contributions.
Private Joint-stock Company Minimum 3 partners.
Minimum AED 2 million Their responsibility is limited to the amount of contributions.
Limited Liability Company Minimum 2 partners. maximum 50 partners.
Minimum: AED 150,000 - 300,000 Their responsibility is limited to the amount of contributions.
General Partnership Minimum: 2. All the partners have to be UAE nationals.
None Unlimited
Limited Partnership At least, 1 general partner (only UAE nationals) and 1 limited partner.
None At least one partner must have unlimited liability. Responsibility of
other partners is limited to the amount contributed.
the degree of innovation in the product. They are also
Reaching the
sensitive in following their customs and traditions and in
consumers Consumer view of this perspective an Arabic packaging is
recommended.
behavior
The Emirates consumers are above all guided by the
price in their purchase decisions. Today, the nationals are
more and more sensitive to other considerations like
product quality, existence of after-sales service or even
2 Engineering Export Info-Bulletin, Vol. 14, Combined Issue Nos. 43 & 44, October 22 & 29,
2012
Consumer profile andOverseas Information
purchasing power
People from Emirates are a young population. They
have very high standard of living. They are curious vis-a-
vis new technologies and products. They are always
looking for the most modern equipment particularly in the
field of mobile telephony and information technology.
From another point of view, they are very conscious of
brand image for luxury products and everything.
2012
between the GCC countries, the system has been
Distributing a Product harmonised.
Evolution of the Sector
There are a number of selling methods possible in
Emirates and among them direct selling can be pointed
out. However this mode remains very less widespread.
The most widespread custom is to market your products
through local commercial agent. It is recommended to
choose from different distributors or commercial agents in
each Emirate. Imports and exports of food products are
typically entrusted to companies specialised in this field.
This market is dominated by 5 or 6 companies. However,
a growing number of food distributors import directly
themselves become a distributor and a wholesaler for
other more modest establishments. Finally, the
companies have the tendency to use the geographical
position of Dubai, which is in fact a regional hub, for
stocking their goods in this Emirate before re-export to
other markets as those of India or Iran. Moreover, the use
of franchise has witnesses a significant expansion.
Market shares
Supermarkets concentrate on the largest part of the
market in the field of distribution with 49,2% of sales. The
market leaders are the Groups Carrefour, Emke. And
Spinney to a lesser extent. They are followed by bulk
sales which realises 28.3% of the market share. In the
third position are the shopping centers with 6%, then fairs
and exhibitions with 1.5% finally followed by specialised
stores with 0.2%.
Market Access
Procedures Non-tariff
barriers
It is prohibited to import foods exposed to radiation and
import of alcohol and pork is strictly restricted to fixed
quotas. It should also be known that any beef or poultry
based product should be accompanied by a Health
certificate from the country of origin.
The UAE is part of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
In 1981, GCC had established an agreement (Unified
Economic Agreement) according to which all farm,
animal, industrial products or natural resources of the
member States should be exempt from customs duties or
any other tax when they conduct intra-GCC trade. GCC is
presently in talks with the European Union, Japan and
USA for future free-trade agreements.
Customs duties and taxes on imports
Since the adoption of a common tariff for the GCC
countries, the customs duty is 5% of the CIF value of
the product.
Customs classification
Since 2003 and the setting-up of the free trade area
2012
Fax : +9712 4444685/4447768
Import procedures Website : http://www.indembassyuae.org
You must furnish : Embassy of UAE in India :
- Delivery order from a shipping agent addressed to a Embass
licensed company by licensing agencies in UAE; y of the 9
- Original bill of lading (for seaports); United 7
- Original invoice from the exporter addressed to a Arab 1
licensed importer in the country detailing total quantity, Emirate 4
goods description and total value for each item (3 s 12, -
exemplaries); Chandra 6
- Copy of the trade license of buyer and seller; gupta 2
Marg, 1
- Certificate of origin approved by the chamber of
commerce at the country of origin detailing the origin Chanak 4
of goods;  yapuri
New 1
- Transport certificate; 
Delhi 4
- The Customs entry declaration; 110 021 4
- A form or letter of exemption from customs duties in Tel. : +91-11-26111111 Fax : 9714 -6339210
case the exemption requirements are fulfilled including Fax : +91-11-26873272 E-mail
Local Purchase Order (LPO); E-mail : :
- Detailed packing list as per weight, method of packing newdelhi@mofa.gov.a, fcciau
and HS code for each individual article contained in info.newdelhi@mofa.gov.ae h@e
the shipment;  Website : mirate
- Import permit from the competent agencies in the http://www.uaeembassy- s.net.
event of importing restricted goods;  newdelhi.com ae
- Health or Phytosanitary certificate or an export Websi
Trade Associations
certificate for the processed products attested by the te :
concerned national department office, confirming that Federation of UAE http://
the product is fit for human consumption Chambers of Commerce www.f
- A halal certificate for the meat ingredients;  & Industry PO Box 3014 cci.go
Abu Dhabi v.ae/
- A non-radiation certificate for some products (optional
U
for European products);  Abu Dhabi Chamber of
n
- Transport documents that are required for import i Commerce and Industry
clearance. Documents with a  must be attested by the t Corniche Street, Chamber
Embassy of United Arab Emirates and the Chamber of e Tower
Commerce in the country of origin of products. d P.
O.
Organizing Goods Transport B
A
Main useful means of r ox
a 6
Transport
b 6
Maritime transport remains the principal means to goods 2,
transport. There are 15 ports in Emirates which E A
experience an average traffic of 3 billion containers in a m b
year. The port Jebel El Ali is one of the largest artificial i u
ports in the world. r D
a h
The air or surface transport freight remains less
t a
important than the maritime transport. According to
e bi
them, rail transport is non-existent.
s U
Useful Addresses nit
T e
Embassy of India in UAE
e d
Embassy of India
l Ar
P.O. Box 4090, Abu Dhabi
. a
United Arab Emirates
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Tel. : +9712 4492700
2012
E http:// :
m E www.
ir m ajcci. 9
a i co.ae 7
t r 1
e a Dubai 4
s t Chamber of -
Tel. : 971-2-6344 466 e Commerce & 2
Fax : 971-2-215 867 s Industry Bin 2
Yas street 2
E-
T Deira 1
mail :
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trade
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t ajmc e
e hmbr s Federation of UAE
d @emi Chambers of Commerce
rates. T and Industry PO Box 8886,
A net.a e Dubai
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a Webs . n
b ite : i
2012
t a 9
e i - Ras El-Khaimah (RAK)
d r 2 Chamber of Commerce and
a 2 Industry
A h 2 P.O. Box 87
r 1 Al
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E t E-mail : t,
m e fujccia@emirates.net.ae Ras
i d El-
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t r Unite
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s b Arab
Emir
T E ates
e m Tel. : 9717-2333511
l i Fax : 9717-2330233
. r E-mail :
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: t Sharjah
e Chamber of
9 s Commerce &
7 Industry Al
1 T Bourj Avenue
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9 9 o
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Fax : 9714 2235498 - 5
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Fujairah Chamber of -
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A ah.g t e
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a e d French Business Council -
b Web Dubai & Northern Emirates
site : A P
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: Website of the Emirates
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Authority for
9 Standardisation and w c
7 Metrology (ESMA) w e
1 (http://www.esma.gov.ae/
w s
en-us/Pages/ home.aspx)
4 . General Information
C
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3 e foreign relations in Emirates
s
5 r (http:/
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2 a www.cyborlink.com/besite/u
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f
a Ministries
2 i
0 e UAE Ministry of Economy
c (http://www.economy.gov.ae
E-mail : /
fbc@emirates.net.ae a /
) English/Pages/default.aspx)
t
Useful Links Website of the Ministry of
i
B B Finance
o (http://www.mof.gov.ae/
u u
n En/pages/default.aspx)
s
i Statistical Office (http://www.nasdaqdubai.co
n O Office of Statistics- m)
e r Dubai Municipality Search Engines
g www.dm.gov.ae/)
s UAE Internet pages
s a Central Bank (http://www.uae-
Central Bank of the United pages.com/) Fares
n
Arab Emirates (http:// (http://eyoon.fares.net/2
E i 49/391/)
www.centralbank.ae/index.
n z php) Economic Portals
v a
Stock Exchange Erutledge
i t Dubai International (http://www.erutledge.com/)
r i Financial R
o o Exchange
(http:// e
n n
www.nasdaqdubai.com/hom a
m s e/home.html)
e Abu Dhabi Stock Exchange c
2012
s p
h n
or
i s p t
Department of Consumer o or
n
protection g
g (http://www.economy.ae/ r a
English/Consumers/Pages/ t ni
default.aspx) z
t at
Main Advertising io
h Agencies P
n
e Directory of the main o s
advertising agencies r National Transport Authority
operating in the (http://www.nta.gov.ae/)
c UAE(http://www.iaauae.org/e t
Air transport
o n/iaa-corporate-directory/? s organizations
page=3)
n Dubai Port Authority General Civil Aviation
For further information (http://www.dpa.co.ae/) Authority
s Port Zayed of Abu Dhabi (http://www.gcaa.gov.ae/
Website of Emirates
u Federal Customs Authority (http://webapps.dpworld.co en/pages/default.aspx)
(http:// www.customs.ae/) m/
m portal/page/portal/DP_WOR Road transport
Federation of UAE organizations
e Chambers of Commerce LD_WEBSITE)
and Industry Sharjah Port Authority National Transport Authority
r (http://www.sharjahports.go (http://www.nta.gov.ae/)
(http://www.fcciuae.ae/en/)
s v.ae/) Multi-sector Directories
O
Airports AAAID Companies
r
C P
g o (http://www.aaaid.org/englis
o rt h/ membercountries.htm) -
a Producers of agricultural
n a
n l products,
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members of the Arab zones directory in the Labor regulation bodies i
Authority for Agricultural UAE. Ministry of Labour r
Investment and Yellow Pages (http://www.mol.gov.ae/)
Development. e
(http://www.yellowpages.ae
Agrisouk - United Arab /) - Find a company in Competent Organization m
Emirates UAE. for the Declaration e
(http://www.agrisouk.com/ World Association of n
Trade Agencies and their
eau/uae1.htm) - Food Investment Promotion
Representations Abroad t
industries and agriculture Agencies (http:/
portal for the Arab world. Abu Dhabi Chamber of /www.waipa.org/) s
Construction Directory Commerce and Industry
Investment Aid Agency Passport and Visa Service
(http://
(http://www.constructionwe
www.abudhabichamber.ae/) Abu Dhabi Investment Emirates Federal
ek directory. com/) -
Directory provided by Chamber of Authority government website giving
Commerce (http://www.adia.ae/) information on visas and
Construction Week
Dubai (http://www. other formalities
Online. Abu Dhabi Online Other Useful Resources
dubaichamber.ae/) entry. (http://
Commercial Directory
(http:// Chamber of Commerce and Emirates Free Zone, www.dubaitourism.ae/definit
Industry of the United Arab directory of the free zones
www.abudhabichamber. with a presentation of UAE ely-dubai/entry-formalities)
ae/English/E- Emirates
(http://www.fcciuae.ae/en/) (http://www.emiratesfreezon Address of the Ministry of
Services/Pages/ Culture and Information on
ADCCIServices.aspx? Chamber of Commerce and e.com/)
Emirates.
serviceurl = Industry of Sharjah (http:// T
www.sharjah.gov.ae/) (http://www.uaeinteract.co
6q5Pp5e3CjeCvuebx3ag r m/travel/visas.asp)
2nwNMcLREZAYPNa2BR Enterprises Federation a http://www.mzv.cz
01UYtVugpbBemWudBp8
Directory of Associations v /wwwo/mzv/
8PbQJ nciz
of foreign companies in default.asp?
%2fCgOw9CI3wLTQExR1 e
partnership with the local id=25931&ido=7306&idj=2&
DmV4K6zfd86ni5TiNQkUtL l
companies in the field of amb=1 - _blank
ic%
trade i
3d&main_menu_id=2) - Organizing Your Trip
(http://www.abudhabi.alloe n
Business directory Means of Transport
xpat.com/abudhabi_inform
provided by the Abu g Recommended in Town
ation/
Dhabi Chamber
joint_trade_abudhabi.php) The best means of
All.biz - United Arab
Emirates Business Setup i travelling in the cities of
(http://www.ae.all.biz/en/) Procedures n Emirates remain the
- Directory of companies personal car and the taxi.
To know about Taxis are a bit costly, but
in the United Arab procedures to start a U easy to find and numerous.
Emirates. Business in United Arab
Eyoon A Majority of them know a
Emirates - Consult Doing
(http://www.eyoon.com/24 E sufficient level English to
Business Website (http://
9/index.html) - Business www.doingbusiness.org/d follow directions and
directory for several ata/exploreeconomies/Uni journeys. Local transports
E
countries in Africa and in ted- Arab- are still less developed
n except in Dubai which has
the Middle East. UAE Emirates/starting-a-
Business Directory business/) t an urban bus service. A trip
(http://www.uaebusinessd Trade Register r to Dubai, costs between 1
irectory. com/) - Find a (http://www.dubai.ae/en.p and 3.5 AED and there is a
y
business in UAE. ortal?topic, pass system.A metro line is
UAE Business Directory biz_reg,0,&_nfpb=true&_p under construction in Dubai
(http://www.uaeincorp.com/) - UAE ageLabel=topic) R since 2006. River taxis
business directory. e enable to cross the Dubai
For Further Statistics
UAEFreeZones.com(http: Creek for 12 AED.
q
//www.uaefreezones.com/ Dubai Statistics Center Maps of Urban Networks
(http://login.dm.gov.ae/) u
directory.asp) - Free
2012
Maporama (http://www.autolease- Website, Statistics
(http://www.maporama.com T uae.com/road_map.html) Department –
/) r EEPC INDIA, www.fita.org)
Find an Itinerary
UT Library on line a [Prepared & Compiled by TID
Portal of via michelin, then
(http://www.lib.utexas.edu/ v Department, EEPC INDIA, (H.O.),
choose the country (http:// Kolkata]
maps/ e www.viamichelin.com/viam
united_arab_emirates.html
l ichelin/gbr/tpl/hme/
Mapblast MaHomePage.htm)
(http://www.mapblast.com/) l
i Tourism Organization
Means of Transport
n Uaeinteract.com
Recommended in the
Rest of the Country g (http://www.uaeinteract.com
/travel/)
Personal vehicle or shared
b Abou Dhabi Touristic
taxis are the best means of
Authority
travelling between different y (http://www.abudhabitouris
Emirates. There are buses m.
and minibuses assuring ae/en/news/expodia.aspx)
Y
links between Emirates. A
monorail project is under o For Further Information
consideration between u on Safety Conditions
Dubai and Abu Dhabi. A r Government website
seaplane service already s (http://www.government.ae/
connects Dubai and Abu web/guest/ home/en)
e
Dhabi. Type of Climate
l
Rail Companies f There are two seasons:
There are no trains within the temperate season from
Emirates. November to April (from
R 12 deg to 30 deg), the hot
e and humid season from
c May to September with
temperatures reaching till
o 50 deg. There are sand
m storms in the month of
m March and April.
e Getting Some Knowledge
n Cias (http://i-
d cias.com/babel/arabi
a c/index.htm) Speak
t 7
i (http://arabic.speak7.
com/)
o
n Free Translation Tools
The road network is Ectaco
excellent, but the traffic can (http://www.ectaco.com/onli
be dangerous (excess ne/)
speed, sudden stoppages Im Translator (http://free-
of taxis in cities). For a tour translator.imtranslator.net/d
in the desert, it is efault. asp?
imperative to have a 4X4. ldr=ar_en&loc=en)
Babylon
Road Maps
(http://translation.babylon.co
Website giving access to m/Arabic/to-English)
free cards
(Source : EEPC India
2012

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Overseas Market Information

United Arab Emirates (UAE) (...continued from previous issue)

1. General Information These documents can be submitted in the Embassy from

Operating a Business in UAE

Types of Companies and Capital (Max/Min) Number of Partners/Shareholders and Liability

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