The Dubai Airport Freezone Authority (DAFZA) has reduced the minimum capital requirement for businesses looking to set up their base in the freezone
According to a company statement, DAFZA reduced the minimum capital requirement for each shareholder to US$272.26 per shareholder from about US$272,000. The SME set-up allows for sole proprietorship or up to 50 shareholders.
New tenants in the DAFZA also have the option to register as a branch of a parent company overseas or as a separate entity in the freezone.
DAFZA said that investors can opt for a furnished 50 square metres workspace, with four workstations and a meeting room for US$3,267 per month, or they can opt for a smaller space with a monthly rent of US$1,089 to set up branches.
DAFZA executive director (finance, sales and customer relations division) Amna Rashed Lootah said, ?At the DAFZA, we are consistently working to enhance and improve our facilities and services to meet the growing demands of the market and provide our tenants with solutions that respond to their business needs. The freezone will constantly evolve to facilitate business set up so that companies can focus their energies on day-to-day operations.?
The DAFZA was set up in 1996 to encourage foreign investors and small and medium enterprises (SME) with quick approval processes, where new entities can start operations within four weeks. It reportedly has 1,500 companies and generates around 2.2 per cent of the UAE's gross domestic product.
In 2012, it was named the best free zone in the Middle East and the second best in the world by the Foreign Direct Investment magazine of the Financial Times.