Dubai
AP Executive in Dubai
In conjunction with AP Group’s specialism in the private wealth management space, AP Executive in Dubai focuses on the alternative investment (private equity, real estate and hedge funds) markets.
Mirroring the changing face of investing and growth in key markets globally, AP Executive’s dedicated team services the GCC region where, as an example, over the past two years, the equity markets in Dubai have been among the world’s top performers. Indeed today, private equity investments total around USD1billion, with current estimates calling for this trend to accelerate. As more than 80 per cent of the investment in the region is currently offshore, increasing the need for the local business community to draw on international expertise, AP Executive finds itself in a position to add real value to clients.
With offices in London, Guernsey, Jersey, BVI, Geneva, Dubai and Cyprus and a presence in the Far East and the US, AP Executive links major onshore and offshore financial centres, and brings an intimate understanding of each jurisdiction to better serve our clients and candidates globally.
AP Executive considers the Middle East to be a significant area of growth, with many of our clients already active in the region. Islamic funds have also grown phenomenally along with the emerging Shariah-compliant products.
Alternative investments have grown around the world, and this growth has been reflected by increased activity in AP Executive’s operations from the Cayman Islands to Hong Kong, Dubai and the rest of the GCC.
Living and Working in Dubai and the UAE
Dubai Is A Regional Entrepot . . .
The Emirate of Dubai extends along the Arabian Gulf coast of the UAE for approximately 72 kilometres with an area of 3,885 square kilometres, and a population of about 1m: 50% Arab and 50% mixed. Arabic and English are the dominant languages.
Jebel Ali, home of a huge man-made port, has the largest free-trade zone in Arabia housing an ever-growing list of international corporations that use the zone for both manufacturing and as a redistribution point.
Dubai International Airport is second only to Tokyo in the number of daily transit passengers it handles, and second only to Seattle as a sea-air hub. Its harbour is the most important port in the Middle East and is ranked among the world’s top 15 in terms of container throughput.
The emirate is strategically located between Africa and the Middle East and between the Far East and Europe, making it a gateway to over 1.5 billion consumers located in countries surrounding the Red Sea and the Gulf.
Dubai’s state-of-the-art air cargo village helps ensure the world’s fastest sea-air transport in as little as four hours. Transportation is facilitated by low-cost warehousing and storage facilities including purpose-built cold stores. Dubai is served by more than 170 shipping lines and more than 86 airlines offering links to over 100 cities worldwide.
. . . and Would Like To Diversify Away From Oil
Petroleum dominates the economy of the UAE. At one time an underdeveloped area, by 1985 the region had the highest per capita income in the world. This immense wealth has been invested in capital improvements and social services in all seven of the emirates. Petroleum production is centred in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. Industrial development is essentially petroleum related but is limited by a lack of trained personnel and raw materials.
Helped along by the Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone, which is home to 1,400 international companies, the emirate’s non-oil imports expanded by 200% between 1986 and 1994. There are no foreign exchange controls, quotas or trade barriers. Import duties are extremely low, and many products are exempt. The UAE dirham is freely convertible and is linked to the US dollar.
There are no taxes to speak of
Apart from the oil industry and domestic banking, there are no income or capital taxes in Dubai, and no withholding tax. Dubai has a number of double tax treaties with high-tax countries and is often used in international tax planning by major corporations. Dubai belongs to the unified customs area of the Gulf Co-operation Council which came into effect on 1st January 2003 and covers Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and the United Arab Emirates (including Dubai).
The Government Is Keen To Promote E-Commerce
In 2000, the Government began to construct Dubai Investment Park, also known as Dubai Internet City (DIC), which has a highly developed technical infrastructure. The first phase of the project was completed in 2002. Hundreds of international companies have already taken out licences to locate in DIC, and e-commerce is rapidly developing in Dubai.
The DIC occupies 3,200 hectares in the South of Dubai, near the Jebel Ali Free Zone. When completed, the DIP will offer state-of-the-art facilities and sites for manufacturing, offices, housing, and academic, research, distributions and logistics institutions. According to the project’s managing director, 35% of the space has been earmarked for industries, 20% for residential housing, 40% for infrastructure, landscaping, and recreational facilities, with the remainder to be allocated to regional offices, headquarters, showrooms, and business centres.
During 2002, Dubai developed plans for the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), intended to be a major financial entrepot; a proposed regulatory structure for the DIFC was published in June, 2003. In July, the Federal Cabinet of the (UAE) approved a Federal Decree allowing the DIFC a large degree of sovereignty. It is hoped that the DIFC will double - to 20% - the financial sector’s contribution to the GDP of the United Arab Emirates by 2010.
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