Abu Dhabi issued 25,600 new economic licences last year as the emirate reported booming business growth.
In its 2022 Business Activity Report, the Abu Dhabi Business Centre, part of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED), reported growth of major indicators and vitality of the business sector despite challenges in the global economy.
The report also showed a high level of adherence to regulations related to consumer rights and intellectual property protection.
Abu Dhabi business growth
A total of 25,593 new economic licences were issued last year, and 73,212 licences were renewed, by the end of December 2022, indicating strong growth and confidence in the Abu Dhabi business sector.
Growth in professional, tourism and industrial new licences reaffirm the attractiveness of these sectors to investors and the ample opportunities they provide for investors.
Professional licences increased 161% from 243 in 2021 to 635 in 2022.
Tourism sector licences grew to 181 in 2022 from 126 in 2021, an increase of 43.6%, while industrial sector licences rose to 243 from 206 licences in 2021, a 17.9% rise.
According to the Business Activity Report, 23,947 commercial sector licences were issued in 2022, comprising 93.5% of the total new licences.
560 Occupational and 25 agricultural, livestock and fishery sector new licences were issued in 2022.
Rashed Abdulkarim Al Blooshi, Undersecretary of ADDED, said that the continued growth of new and renewed economic licences reflects the success of policies and initiatives launched by Abu Dhabi to forge ahead with its diversification strategy and the ongoing improvement of legislative and regulatory framework as well as infrastructure and digital transformation to offer compelling opportunities in different sectors to investors.
“We remain focused on constant enhancements of the public-private partnership ecosystem to allow businesses to benefit from and thrive, meet investors’ demands, and protect consumer and intellectual property as part of our efforts to achieve a knowledge-based, innovation-driven, and sustainable economy,” he added.
The report revealed that the Trademarks & Commercial Agencies Protection Department has conducted 5,169 monitoring visits and 213 inspection campaigns to ensure adherence of commercial facilities to laws and rules regulating the sector in the emirate.
The number of offences reported decreased to 420 from 479 in 2022, and 10 awareness workshops on the differences between original and counterfeit products were organised.
The Consumer Protection Department conducted 9,147 monitoring visits and 153 inspection campaigns. It settled 5,064 consumer complaints related to products valued at AED27.6m, compared to 4,209 settled complaints in 2021.
Last year, Inspection & Control Department conducted 185,759 monitoring visits compared to 179,457 in 2021, while offences reported decreased from 7,080 in 2021 to 3,813 in 2022.
In 2022, the Abu Dhabi Business Centre (ADBC) launched initiatives to enhance the business ecosystem and ensure the best conditions for investors to grow and thrive while protecting the rights of consumers and intellectual property.
It also launched a consumer dispute resolution service to expedite the settlement of disputes between consumers and commercial establishments in Abu Dhabi.
Mohammed Munif Al Mansouri, Executive Director of the Abu Dhabi Business Centre, said: “As part of our ongoing efforts to ensure ease of doing business and support entrepreneurs, we expanded ‘Tajer Abu Dhabi’ (Abu Dhabi Trader) licence, which allows micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (mSMEs) to obtain the trade licence without the need to work from a physical location or having to pay rent on commercial space for three years, by adding 126 new activities to it.
“Additionally, ADDED granted 1,200 economic activities a one-year exemption from having a lease contract for work premises. We are committed to improving Abu Dhabi’s competitiveness and status as the preferred destination for business and investments.”
Statistics Centre – Abu Dhabi (SCAD) data shows GDP increased by 10.5 per cent in the first nine months of 2022, compared to the same period of 2021.
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