The Economic Department of Ras Al Khaimah serves as a one-stop shop for investors. Professor Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim, explains, “We have brought all the necessary operations under one roof so that an investor can come here and set up a business. It only takes about ten minutes to receive a license. We want to make life as easy as possible for investors.” The department recently reduced its fees to help support investors during the global crisis.
The Economic Department has established branch offices, for example in malls which operate from 10 AM to 10 PM and on Saturdays. “We decided to stay open these long hours so that we would be more available to investors,” Professor Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim says. In another measure designed to streamline procedures, the Economic Department has trained its staff to be ‘comprehensive employees’, in that each person serving customers can handle all tasks without requiring the customer to see someone else.
GDP to top €3.5 billion this year
Transparency is another priority for the Economic Department, which compiles its own database and statistics and publishes this information in English every year. As Professor Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim points out, “Investors need to know what the economic indicators are.” These economic indicators are very positive. Ras Al Khaimah is the second emirate in the UAE to receive a credit rating from Fitch ratings services, and it will achieve GDP of over €3.5 billion this year. “Ras Al Khaimah received an A rating from Fitch last year as well, even during the crisis, and we are aiming to earn AA and eventually AAA ratings,” Professor Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim says. The department recently completed a new survey on the economy that will provide even more information for investors.
Professor Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim points out that all segments of Ras Al Khaimah’s economy are growing. Tourism now accounts for around 3% of GDP, while industry contributes 33%. “We believe our industrial sector’s contribution will rise to 40% next year,” Professor Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim explains. Ras Al Khaimah’s GDP was growing by 20% annually before the global crisis and even during the crisis managed to achieve a 6% growth in 2010.
Ras Al Khaimah welcomes foreign investors, including joint ventures in the rapidly developing education and health sectors. To potential investors in the EU, Professor Hassan Hamdan Al Alkim says, “Ras Al Khaimah offers low costs of doing business, a safe environment, high quality of life, natural beauty, a very strategic location, abundant natural resources, and a strong regulatory environment that protects investors.”
