Rak Investment Authority
Ras Al Khaimah is one of the seven emirates that comprise the United Arab Emirates
. Strategically it is located on the tip of the Arabian Gulf, the emirate shares borders with Oman, Sharjah, Dubai and Fujairah.It has a total land area of 2478 sq.kms and has an overall population of 250,000. The past few years has seen the city grow rapidly on the back of economic development and diversification of its industries.
Rak Investment Authority was constituted in the northern emirates of Ras Al Khaimah, in 2005 as per directives of His Highness Sheik Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, the Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of the emirate.
Within 3 years of its inception, Rakia has managed to attract more than 1600 companies to the emirate and amassed more than USD 2 bn in industrial investments.
Any investor, who wishes to grow with RAK Investment Authority, will enjoy the following facilities.
Fiscal Benefits:
* 100% income and corporate tax exemptions
* No foreign exchange controls
* 100% capital and profit repatriation
* Strong appreciating and fully convertible currency
* Low inflation
* Easy funding from International Banks
Regulatory Benefits:
* 100% ownership in free zones
* No trade barriers or quotas
* Easy licensing procedures
* Simple import, export policies
* Liberal labor laws
* No restrictions on hiring expatriates
It has formed RAK offshore, which is a true offshore facility and regularity body offering complete offshore non resident business registration and financial services. It allows any non resident individual or moral entity to open a company registered within the free zone.
These companies are extremely flexible international instruments that can serve many objectives: trading operations, asset protection, tax planning, real estate holding, trusts, funds etc.
They require a symbolic capital and only one director and shareholder. They can hold board meetings anywhere on the planet and the identity of their shareholders are kept confidential by law, unless there is suspicion of criminal activity by the Ras al Khaimah and regulatory bodies.
According to Peter Michael Schuster, General Manager, RAK offshore, the number of companies jumped by six fold from 300 in 2007 to 1,750 in 2008. The company is optimistic and it will see another 100 percent increase in the number of registration and a 70 percent increase on profits this year. They expect more than 2000 companies to register with them this year.
So far, in the first two months of this year, 150 companies have been registered. It is a little bit slow because it is the beginning of 2009 and companies are just closing their balance sheets. RAK offshore, together with Ras Al Khaimah is a new commercial and tourism hub through a number of road shows in Western and Eastern Europe, India and Korea, among other.
To ensure maximum flexibility for investor while maintaining strict compliance with local as well as international rules and regulations, Ras al Khaimah offshore has a dedicated Financial Services Authority that is directly in charge of overseeing the regulated financial activity within RAK offshore as well as the Financial City.
It is designed to fill a clear gap in the regional and worldwide offshore opportunities available to businesses and financial companies. It also aims to be a regional business hub with unique competitive advantages that will appeal to a wide variety of businesses, entrepreneurs and investors.
by: Ramapati Singhania