Abu Dhabi issues 4,538 commercial licenses in first half of 2017

DUBAI: Abu Dhabi issued 4,538 commercial licenses during the first half of this year, as the emirate managed to largely insulate itself from the unsettled global markets.

The Abu Dhabi Business Center (ADBC), in its half-year report, said that 2,330 licenses were issued in the first quarter and 2,208 in the second quarter. It did not provide comparative numbers for the previous periods last year.

“The movement of regular commercial licenses reflects the extent of the rising economic activity in the emirate despite the global markets crises and impacts,” Khalifa bin Salem Al-Mansouri, the Undersecretary of the Department of Economic Development, said in a WAM report.

“It shows the great interest of the business community and national and foreign investors to avail themselves of an opportunity, thanks to the existing administrative and legislative systems in the emirate.”

The half-year report also said that total number of licenses in the emirate — mostly commercial, industrial and tourist permits — reached 111,039, of which 71,696 were issued in Abu Dhabi, 30,605 in the eastern region and 8,738 in Al-Dhafra.

Mohamed Munif Al-Mansouri, the Acting Executive Director of the ADBC, said they have launched a number of initiatives including the activation of electronic services on the website and an application to cover all licensing transactions.

The center completed the electronic integration of 36 local and federal entities during the first half of the year, and managed to process 100,174 transactions including license issuances, renewals and cancelations, online services and violation notices.