The Dubai Department of Economic Development (DED) issued 1,144 licences in November 2007.

The majority of these were issued in the commercial sector (936), followed by the professional sector (182), tourism (14) and industrial (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 105 licences issued, followed by ‘watches and accessories’ with 103, ‘ready made garments’ with 96, and ‘real estate brokerage’ with 93. ‘Steel manufacturing’, 'building metal products' and 'kitchen cabinets & fixtures' led the list of activities in the industrial category with two licences issued for each.

In November, DED issued 19 new licences to branches of foreign firms from India, South Korea, Japan, Great Britain, Spain, Germany, China and elsewhere. 

The Intlaq scheme, an initiative by the Department of Economic Development to encourage more UAE nationals to set up businesses from home, received strong response with 54 licences issued in November 2007, a 12.5 per cent increase from November 2006. The largest growth was recorded in the trade category, with 39 licenses issued.

Limited liability companies (LLCs) topped the list of issued licences according to legal status, with 630 licences issued in November followed by Individual corporations with 441. The total number of transactions during November 2007 reached 30,891. ‘Licence amendment’ topped the list of transactions with 6,517 (21 per cent) followed by ‘Licence renewal’ with 5,527 (18 per cent) and ‘Commercial permits’ with 4,343 (14 per cent).--TradeArabia News Service