The Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development or ADDED has launched a virtual license that lets non-resident foreign investors do business within the emirate, official sources have said.
The program lets non-resident foreign investors obtain an economic license for doing business in the emirate without any prior residence procedures and from any location outside the UAE, said the sources.
The ADDED announcement was made on the sidelines of the 41st session of the Gitex Global (Dubai 2021).
The virtual license is said to cover 13 economic sectors on top of the strategic sectors targeted by the Abu Dhabi government to attract Foreign Direct Investment.
The sectors include agriculture, manufacturing, repair, contracting, maintenance and installations, retail trade, transport, services, leasing services, health, and entertainment event organization.
The foreign investor can apparently apply for a license in any of these economic sectors and thoroughly (100 percent) own it through any of the two approved legal forms: Limited Liability Company or Sole Proprietorship.
On the new move, ADDED Chairman Mohamed Ali Al Shorafa was quoted as saying: “The virtual license is an unprecedented proactive initiative targeting attraction of Foreign Direct Investments (FDIs) through facilitating the economic activity licensing procedures and requirements, regardless of the location of the investor and no residency requirements shall be met before the issuance of this license.”
This initiative goes in line with the directions of the UAE government to enable cross-border digital trade, he stated.