ADDED reveals 105 per cent increase in new economic licenses reaching more than 5,000 in Q3 2019

The issuance of new economic licenses in Abu Dhabi has dramatically increased by 105 per cent during the third quarter of 2019, following growing demand for commercial and craftsmanship licenses compared to the same period last year, according to the Q3 2019 Business Activity Report.

The report issued by Abu Dhabi Business Centre (ADCB) of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED) revealed that a total of 5,009 new economic licenses were issued during the period compared to 2,435 licenses issued during Q3 2018.

H.E. Rashed Abdul Kareem Al Balooshi, ADDED’s Undersecretary emphasized that the growth of new issued licenses with some of the most prominently applied such as ‘Instant License’, ‘Dual License’ and the ‘Automatic Renewal’ for economic license, is the result of ADDED’s efforts and initiatives launched recently in line with the Abu Dhabi Development Accelerators Program ‘Ghadan 21’.

According to the report, 19,485 licenses were renewed during the third quarter of 2019 which has increased by 5 per cent compared to 18,537 renewed licenses during the same period in 2018. Moreover, 8,886 licenses were amended during the same quarter with an increase rate of 32.5 per cent compared to 6,705 during Q3 2018 in addition to the issuance of 3,891 permit and advertisements during Q3 219 with 2.17 per cent growth compared to 3,808 during Q3 of year 2018.

H.E. Al Balooshi said that these positive figures reflect the success of ADDED’s continuing efforts to enhance Abu Dhabi’s competitiveness and create an environment conducive for business and investments, following the Emirate’s flexible economic policies aimed at encouraging investors and entrepreneurs alike.

The report further stated that the new licenses were issued for commercial, craftsmanship, agricultural, tourism, industrial and vocational purposes, and out of 5,009 new licenses, 110 were applied for craftsmanship licenses, a soaring increase of over 103 per cent. Meanwhile, the agricultural, livestock, and fish licenses achieved 175 per cent growth. The industrial licenses as well marked 61 per cent increase while new applications for vocational licenses grew by 33 per cent.

The report mentioned that the new economic licenses in the 3rd quarter this year that were issued in accordance to their legal form as follows: 3,483 licenses for individual institutions during Q3 2019 with an increase of 143 per cent compared to 1,431 licenses during Q3 2018. In addition, 667 limited liability companies’ licenses achieved an increase of 68 per cent followed by 328 one-person company licenses compared to 195 licenses during Q3 2018.

The report further cited that the total number of renewed commercial licenses during Q3 2019 reached 15,313 comprising 2,979 for craftsmanship, 418 for tourism, 286 for industrial and 460 for vocational licenses.

Moreover, ADDED issued during Q3 2019 a total of 7,413 ‘Tajer Abu Dhabi’ license, 1,223 ‘Instant License’, 114 ‘Dual License’, and 1,221 E-commerce licenses. This reflects the high demand from investors and business owners for these types of licenses due to their their flexibility and easy issuance procedures.

H.E. Al Balooshi highlighted that ADDED remains committed to enhancing Abu Dhabi’s position as an incubator for business continuity and sustainability and underscored the importance of leading initiatives and programs that attract investments and enhance economic efficiency, thereby promoting an ideal investment environment and stimulating economic development. He added that these programs also promote innovation and creativity, which contributes to better business environment and stronger competitiveness.