All Countries and All Sectors

Dubai’s desire to capture and leverage innovative technological breakthroughs is manifest in the number of incentives offered for the world’s smartest minds and most dynamic start-ups. While there are a number of independent entities offering funding and incentives for forward-thinking enterprises, the emirate’s leadership has also developed a...

In late February 2017 Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA) announced a five-year development strategy for the emirate, covering the 2017 to 2021 period. The plan, which includes more than 30 individual projects and initiatives, is largely aimed at turning the emirate into a global leader in the development and implementation of...

The UAE operates the most decentralised system of government finances in the world, according to the IMF. Under the fiscal model, the national government pays for federal infrastructure, including major roads passing through multiple emirates, as well as spending on social services such as health, education and housing, with emirate-level...

Intense competition, low penetration rates and a strong bias towards non-life products characterises Dubai’s insurance sector, with ratings agencies agreeing that there is robust medium-term growth potential for the emirate’s underwriters.

Recent decades have seen a downward convergence in corporate tax regimes as advanced, emerging and developing economies moved to grab a bigger slice of the global investment pie. Headline corporate tax rates have fallen by 20 percentage points since the early 1980s. Alongside lower average rates, special tax incentives aimed at capturing...

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) dominate Dubai’s economy, accounting for around 95% of companies operating in the emirate, according to Dubai SME, the Dubai Department of Economic Development’s SME agency. They also generate nearly 40% of the economy’s value added and 42% of employment. The value-added figure breaks down into a...