São Paulo – The Ras Al Khaimah Free Zone (RAK FTZ), in the United Arab Emirates, announced this Monday (18th) that it has registered 522 new companies in the first quarter of 2011, an increase of 17% over the same period of 2010. Also in the first quarter, 970 companies have renewed their operating licenses, an increase of 36.6% using the same basis of comparison.
As a result, the number of companies with clearance to operate in the free zone has surpassed 5,000. The management of the RAK FTZ believes that the performance achieved "amidst an economic environment of extreme hardship in the region" attests to the good standards of the facilities and services offered by the enterprise. Some Middle Eastern and North African countries are experiencing political crises, but the Emirates are not one of them.
According to RAK FTZ, 140 of the new companies registered are from India, 43 are from the United Kingdom, 29 are from Egypt, 27 from Pakistan, 24 from Turkey, 20 from France, 16 from Germany, 15 from the United States, 13 from Jordan and 13 from Russia.
"Our open-doors economic development policy has won the trust of investors from around the world, as we have verified through new registrations and renewals," said the CEO of RAK FTZ, Oussama El Omari, according to a press statement issued by the organization.
The RAK FTZ statement also highlights investment being made in infrastructure in the Northeast of the country, where the emirate of Ras Al Khaimah is located. According to the organization, US$ 43.3 million are being allocated to water supply and solar power generation, and US$ 822 million to roads and sanitation.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
