Dubai DED issued 2,459 new licences in March 2019

The Business Registration and Licensing, BRL, sector of the Dubai Department of Economic Development, DED, has issued 2,459 new licences in March 2019, a growth of 35.4 percent compared to March 2018 (1,816).

According to the department, the new licences have created 9,661 jobs in the labour market. “Among the new licences issued, 58 percent were commercial, 39.3 percent professional, 1.9 percent were related to tourism and 0.8 percent to industry,” it added.

The ‘Business Map’ digital platform of the DED, which seeks to reflect the economic realities in Dubai by providing vital data on each licence category including their numbers and distribution on a monthly basis, saw 27,531 business registration and licensing transactions being completed in March 2019, a growth of 4.9 percent compared to same period last year (26,257).

The findings showed that licence renewal accounted for 13,112 transactions in March 2019, a growth of 3.5 percent compared to March 2018 (12,671), while 6,125 transactions were related to auto-renewals via text messages.

In March 2019, the number of Trade Name Reservations was 3,656, a growth of 11.4 percent compared to March 2018 (3,281), while the number of Initial Approvals reached 2,921, and the number of Commercial Permits reached 1,677. The BRL also issued 190 instant licences, while DED Trader Licences rose from 179 in March 2018 to 226 in March 2019, up 26.3 percent.

The outsourced service centres of DED issued 17,770 transactions, a growth of 64.5 percent of the total BRL transactions issued in March 2019 (27,531), thus demonstrating their vital role in delivering value-added services to the public in Dubai.

The report also showed that the top nationalities who secured licences in March 2019 were India, followed by Pakistan, Bangladesh, Egypt, China, Jordan, The Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Canada and France.