The Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) issued 1,068 licenses in October 2007.

The majority of these were issued in the commercial sector (839), followed by the professional sector (196), industrial (21) and tourism (12), according to a comprehensive report prepared by the Economic Affairs Division at the DED.

‘General trade’ led the list of the top 10 licensed activities in the commercial category with 112 licences issued, followed by ‘real estate brokerage’ with 97, ‘watches and accessories’ with 83 and ‘ready made garments’ with 82.

‘Wooden interior design utilities’, 'central air-conditioning equipments' and 'commercial printings' led the list of activities in the industrial category with three licences issued for each.

In October, DED issued 20 new licences to branches of foreign firms from Kuwait, South Korea, Japan, Great Britain, France, Turkey and elsewhere. 

The Intlaq scheme, an initiative by DED to encourage more UAE nationals to set up businesses from home, received strong response with 44 licences issued in October 2007, a 69 per cent increase from October 2006. The largest growth was recorded in the trade category, with 33 licenses issued.

Limited liability companies (LLCs) topped the list of issued licences according to legal status, with 572 licences issued in October followed by individual corporations with 410.

The total number of transactions during October 2007 reached 27,832. ‘Licence renewal’ topped the list of transactions with 5,751 (21 per cent) followed by ‘Licence amendment’ with 4,843 (17 per cent) and ‘Commercial permits’ with 3,934 (14 per cent). – TradeArabia News Service