Enthusiasm grows in UAE as businesses licenses increase in Dubai lately. Business licenses created in 2014 rose with 13% compared to the previous year, which shows that business is flourishing in Dubai. Business experts in UAE report on the latest news. There have been many comments about UAE acting as a connection between the Middle East and the West; Emirates are known to be breaking ground when it comes to pro-business policies and encouraging foreign investment. Their endeavors to assist new businesses to invest in the Emirates can only be compared with Qatar. Looking at the latest rates made public lately, these endeavors have not been in vain. The DED (Dubai’s Department of Economic Development) announced a growth of 13% in the number of business licenses created in 2014, totaling a number of 21,358 as opposed to 18,848 in 2013. There is a high degree of enthusiasm that abounds in the UAE economy, primarily because the investment has increased in multiple sectors: the biggest growth was in industrial licenses, followed by tourism and commercial licenses and lastly, professional licenses. If we consider the arrangements made for the Expo 2020, we can definitely say that Dubai is and will remain the capital of foreign investment for the Middle East for many years to come. AT A GLANCE An increment in the number of amended licences has occurred between 2013 when there were 74,859 and 2014 with 85,548; this means a raise of 14%. There was a 4% raising from 114,218 to 118,953 on the number of total renewed licences. In 2014 total transactions completed reached 577,400. An increment of 12% of reserved trade names occurred between 2013 with 74,750 and 2014 with 83,599. Initial approvals have grown to 38,580, meaning 14% increment. A growth rate of 17% was accounted for the number of licences from Limited Liability Companies (LLC), from 2013 with 12,549 until 2014 with 14,701. An increase of 6% occurred for single ownership licences, from 2013 with a total of 5,090 until 2014 with 5,375. In 2014, licences from subsidiaries of free zone companies illustrated 129% increase – 103 in total, and 2013 was 45. The number of foreign companies’ subsidiaries licences incremented by 15%, public shareholding companies by 36%, and private shareholding ones had raised by 43%. A report of 67% of the total expected licences was registered in 2014, succeeded by Single ownership companies with 27% and Civil Works companies with 4%.