The Business Registration and Licensing (BRL) sector in Dubai Economy issued 4,076 new licences during January 2020 leading to 10,782 new jobs as the emirate continued to enhance its appeal as a destination for sustainable business growth. Overall, 30,582 BRL transactions were recorded in the ‘Business Map’ digital platform of Dubai Economy in January 2020 – an increase of 22% compared to the same period last year (25,115 transactions) – as more and more businesses and investors took advantage of the emirate’s competitiveness and increasing opportunities across diverse economic sectors.

The report showed the businessmen who secured new licenses during January 2020 included those from Britain, Saudi Arabia, India, Pakistan, Egypt, Jordan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

The outsourced service centres of Dubai Economy accounted for 22,690 transactions, a 74% of the total BRL transactions (30,582) completed in January 2020, thus demonstrating their vital role in delivering value-added services to the public in Dubai.

The report showed that License Renewal accounted for 12,252 transactions during January 2020, while 6,021 (49%) transactions were related to Auto Renewal via text messages. There were also 5,208 transactions related to Trade Name Reservation in January while there were also 4,350 transactions for Initial Approvals and 1,278 for Commercial Permits.

BRL also issued 185 instant licenses in January 2020. The Instant License is issued in a single step without the need for either the Memorandum of Association or an existing location for the first year only. On the other hand, the number of DED Trader licenses, which allow to conduct business activities on websites and social media channels, reached 350 in January 2020.

According to report, 70.4% of the new licences issued in January 2020 were professional, followed by 28% commercial. As per the distribution of those new licences, Bur Dubai accounted for the largest share (2,299), of licences followed by Deira (1,772), and Hatta (5).

The top sub-regions, which accounted for 63.6% of all the transactions, in January 2020 were: Burj Khalifa (16%), Oud Metha (11.8), Al Garhoud (10.3%), Oud Al Muteena (5.6%), Al Fahidi (4.1%), Trade Centre 1 (3.9%), Port Saeed (3.7%), Umm Al Ramool (3.3%), Al Marrar (2.5%), and Riggat Al Buteen (2.4%).

Real estate, leasing & business services accounted for 48.5% of the economic activities licensed in January 2020, followed by: Trade & repair services (22.7%), Building & construction (9.3%), Community & personal services (7.6%), Transport, storage & communications (3.7%), Hotels group (3.1%), Manufacturing (2.4%), Financial brokerage (0.9%), health & labour (0.6%), Contracting group (0.5%), Education (0.4%), and Agriculture (0.3%).

The Business Map, www.dubaibusinessmap.ae, seeks to reflect the economic realities in Dubai by providing vital data on each license category including their numbers and distribution as well as investor trends on a monthly basis. It also includes an interactive guide explaining the geographic distribution and concentration of major business activities and the rate of urban growth in terms of expanding neighbourhoods and business licenses.