Two media companies based at Abu Dhabi’s media zone twofour54 have become the first firms to take advantage of a new agreement that allows them to have an ‘onshore’ licence without the need for an office outside the free zone.
 
Production house Media Mania and creative communications agency All About Brands are among the 460-plus media companies that call twofour54 home. These include Sky News Arabia, CNN, Ubisoft, Fox, Flash Entertainment, M&C Saatchi, Flat6labs and many more.
 
The agreement between the free zone and Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (DED) allows firms licensed by the Media Zone Authority – Abu Dhabi (‘MZA’) to apply for a DED branch licence in addition to their existing free zone licence, without the need to have a second additional onshore office or premises. twofour54 are actively encouraging and supporting partners through the process to enable them to take advantage of this new commercial opportunity.
 
MZA, the authority regulating twofour54 said the licence helps firms freely carry out their commercial activities as well as take part in more tenders for government and semi-government entities, this increasingly helps us connect the private and public sectors in the emirate
 
Khalifa Bin Salem Al Mansouri, Undersecretary of the Department of Economic Development, said: “Allowing firms registered with twofour54 to conduct business outside of the free zone will strengthen direct foreign investment in Abu Dhabi.
 
“We are working with other government agencies to attract higher value investments to the emirate, and changes to the license structure is one of the ways we can make it easier for people to come here and set up their business.”
 
Maryam Eid Al Mheiri, CEO of the Media Zone Authority – Abu Dhabi and twofour54, said: “At twofour54, our partners’ success is our success and we will continue to support them as we help foster Abu Dhabi’s rapidly growing media industry.
 
“This agreement with DED illustrates how our partners’ needs are at the forefront of everything we do as we strive to create a unique and vibrant media ecosystem of which the UAE is proud.”
 
Ronald Daou, general manager of Media Mania, which describes itself as a “one-stop solution” for all media needs, said the new licence will allow Media Mania to grow even further.
 
“We are proud to be one of the first companies at twofour54 to get this licence,” he said. “We believe that this will open doors to new opportunities for Media Mania, particularly when it comes to working with government entities,” he said.
 
“It will allow us to remain part of the close-knit community of firms at twofour54, from start-ups to international names, and yet be even more connected to the government as well.”
 
Mark Rollinson, chairman of All About Brands, added: “We are grateful for the continued support of twofour54, who aided us throughout the application process.
 
“This licence plays an important part in the growth strategy of All About Brands as we can now reach clients who previously were unable to work with us.”
 
A number of other firms at twofour54 are already following the lead of Media Mania and All About Brands by applying for the license, which is the latest example of Abu Dhabi governmental entities working together to improve the competitiveness of the business environment and position Abu Dhabi as one of the best business destinations in the world. – TradeArabia News Service