The number of new commercial licenses registered by the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) during the first half of 2016 has reached 4,787, a report said.

The first quarter has seen 2,339 licenses while the second quarter scored 2,448 licenses, which brought the overall number of licenses in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi to 110,445, added the report from WAM, the official Emirates News Agency.

Abu Dhabi Business Centre’s biannual report of 2016 on the activity of commercial licensing in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi said that the overall number of commercial licenses in the city of Abu Dhabi by the end of the first half of 2016 reached 70,000, with 31,057 of them in the Eastern Region of Al Ain and 9,388 licenses in the Western Region.

"The ongoing surge in the registration of new businesses, despite the negative effects and crises in the global markets reflects the genuine interest shown by local and foreign businessmen and investors in seizing economic opportunities in Abu Dhabi which prides itself on its advanced administrative and legislative system on a par with the best international standards, which ensure continuous progress on the global competitiveness indexes," Khalifa bin Salem Al Mansouri, ADDED's Acting Under-Secretary was quoted as saying in the report.

Mohamed Munif Al Mansoori, executive director of ADDED's Abu Dhabi Business Centre, said that the centre has launched a number of initiatives in the past few months, including the fast-track renewal application, in addition to 14 licensing e-services.

According to the report, the total number of renewed licenses in the first half of this year amounted to 42,132, of which 21,040 were in the first quarter and 21,092 in the second quarter. The number of license activity amendments in the 1st half of 2015 was 13,642, of which 7,090 were in the 1st quarter and 6,552 in the 2nd quarter. During the first half of 2015, 13,141 new trade names were issued, 6,764 in the 1st quarter and 6,377 in the 2nd quarter.

The ADBC report for the second half of 2016 also showed that 6,777 permits and advertisements were issued, of which 3,108 were in the 1st quarter and 3,669 in the 2nd quarter of 2016. The first half of 2016 has also seen the cancelation of 1,132 licenses, 548 in the 1st quarter and 584 in the 2nd quarter. Additionally, 7,401 electronic service transactions were made, 3,060n in the first quarter and 4,341 in the 2nd quarter.

The report said that the total licensing transactions processed by ADBC in the first half of 2016 amounted to 89,092 transactions, of which 44,035 were in the 1st quarter and 45,057 were in the 2nd, including all license renewal, amendment, issuance, cancellation, electronic services, advertising and permit transactions, and new trade name issuance transactions.