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Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone - A haven for Indian SMEs

Sep 2009

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Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAKFTZ) Authority is attracting a large number of Indian SMEs to Sep up their units in the FTZ in UAE which is offering many facilities and conducive environment.

Representatives of the RAKFTZ have been organizing meetings and road shows in several Indian cities to meet businessmen interested to gather information about RAK Free Trade Zone and to assist them in the setting up of a company in the United Arab Emirates.

“It is a unique opportunity for businessmen to network with the top officials of RAKFTZ who provide them with all information on the ease and the cost of doing business in our Free Zone, the different types of licenses under which their future company can operate, the facilities & services available and more importantly, we will closely assist them in the setting up of a company in our Free Zone,” said an authority official. RAKFTZ is one of the fastest growing and cost-effective free zones in UAE and is rapidly emerging as the preferred business hub in the Middle East. With excellent infrastructure, tax-free environment, customized solutions, hassle-free procedures, value-added services and all the facilities that you expect from a world-class free zone, RAKFTZ is definitely an ideal choice for the next business venture. A 45 minutes drive from Dubai, Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) is one of the seven Emirates of UAE.

“Our events have a big turnout of approximately 300 businessmen in each of the cities who visit us over a period of 3 days. There is an average of 700 - 800 inquiries from each of these events. These businessmen are traders, consultants and manufacturing firms that are looking at setting up their business in UAE. We provide counseling free of charge to businessmen on the most suitable license for their activity, the facility that will be most appropriate and assist with the entire procedure for registering their company in our Free Zone. We have had an extremely good response from all our events especially in places like Mumbai, Delhi, Ludhiana, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata and other metros. Our Liaison Office in Mumbai acts like a one-stop shop for all businessmen interested to register their company with our Free Trade zone”, the official said.

Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone posted a 14.5 percent increase in revenue in the second quarter of 2009, compared to the same period in 2008.

New company registrations for April June 2009 climbed to 554, a marked 14.7 percent increase from last year's registration and a further 13.6 percent increase compared to the first quarter of this year.

Instead of slowing down due to the recent global recession and typical summer business sluggishness, RAK FTZ enjoyed the highest single-month registrations total since opening, with 211 new companies signing up in June. El Omari attributes this to the quality of the products and services provided by the free trade zone, especially when it comes to tailoring custom packages according to specific client needs.

In the midst of the global slowdown, RAK FTZ put measures in place to ensure that clients can easily and seamlessly set up their branch to operate in Ras Al Khaimah for a fraction of the usual cost. This was achieved through easy-to-access and dedicated business web portals as well as the opening of new liaison offices in the USA, China, Germany, Turkey and other strategic locations.

Breaking down the numbers of the newly registered companies, 64 percent are trading companies with warehousing facilities, 26 percent offer consulting and other services, seven percent are general trading firms and three percent are industrial.

Focus on SMEs

Companies from Asia make up 41 percent of the new registrations, followed by the European Union at 21 percent, the Middle East at 13 percent, the rest of Europe at six percent and other countries at 19 percent (Fig. 1).

In the coming months, RAK Free Trade Zone will focus its efforts on small and medium sized businesses and entrepreneurs through the promotion of the shared facilities, the free zone's entry-level product. To emphasise this, El Omari cited the current campaign being held in Jordan, which will run until the 9th of September 2009, offering the shared facility for a special package of USD 5,500.

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1 Comments >>

amiruddin choudhary

20 Dec 2011 (00:18:34)

i want to start a manufacturing unit in RAK freezone i want the detail of plot with complete shed minimum 2500sqft

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