The free economic zone of this emirate, known as RAK FTZ, will celebrate its 10th anniversary in May. By experts, it is considered the fastest growing and most cost-effective free economic zone in the United Arab Emirates. At the moment, it has become a "home" for four thousand operating local and international companies.
According to Ussama El Omari, RAK FTZ Chief Executive Officer, one of the most important goals of the SEZ is to increase the number of company registrations in its territory to 15% by the end of this year. "Despite the global economic crisis, the registration of companies in our SEZ increased by 10% in 2009 compared to 2008 and amounted to 1,935 new companies. This fact also affected its income, which grew by 11%," Omari said.
Currently, 64% of trading companies using storage facilities, 26% of consulting and service companies, 7% of general trading companies and 3% of industrial companies operate in RAK FTZ. RAK FTZ plans to strengthen its position and turn it into a business center aimed at assisting small and medium-sized enterprises, developing new markets in countries such as Turkey, Russia, Iran and the USA.
The Ras Al Khaimah Free Economic Zone offers four types of business permits: commercial licenses, general trade licenses, consulting and service licenses, and industrial licenses. The largest number of companies in RAK FTZ is registered from India, they account for 37%, 12% of companies from the UK, the third largest number are companies from Egypt. The top ten most successful companies include: Ueims School of Medicine & Dentistry, London American City College, Dolphin International (RAK Duty Free), Uniglobe General Trading, BLPF Protection, Ballistic Solutions Emirates, Capdec Paints, Middle East Spark Trading, Thermal Ceramics and Max Marine.
According to the Ras Al Khaimah Chamber of Commerce, the emirate's contribution to the UAE's gross domestic product is about 16.2 billion dirhams (4.4 billion US dollars) annually.
