Law amendments to drive UAE company registrations up 15%

Nearly a quarter of a million new companies set up shop in the UAE last year, with the number of small and medium-sized enterprises owned by Emirati nationals growing by 63 percent over the past five years, the state-run Wam news agency reported.

UAE economy and tourism minister Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri said the number of new companies should expand by another 10 to 15 percent this year once amendments to the Gulf state’s relevant legislation start having an impact.

The UAE has attracted around 760,000 businesses since the issuance of the Commercial Companies Law in September 2021, bringing the number of companies in the country to more than 1.4 million, up 119 percent from the first half of 2021.

The UAE amended the law last month, allowing companies to transfer their registrations among the seven emirates and financial free zones. It updated 15 articles of the legislation, offering greater flexibility in ownership structures, sale and exit processes, and corporate governance.

Al Marri said the UAE is among the first countries in the Middle East to allow multiple quota classes for limited liability companies, while many countries restrict this to joint stock companies, particularly public entities. 

The law enhances ease of doing business and ensures smoother market entry by allowing the transfer of a company’s registration from the commercial register among emirates, free zones and financial free zones.

The move will reduce compliance and operating costs for companies, he said.

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Al Marri said UAE tourism delivered a strong performance in 2025, with its contribution to gross domestic product rising to 15 percent, from 6 percent in 2021.

Tourism’s contribution to GDP stood at AED291 billion ($80 billion) by the end of 2025, a 216 percent increase over four years.

The minister said he expected the UAE economy to have expanded by 5 percent in 2025, supported by non-oil sectors, whose contribution reached 77.5 percent by the end of the first half of the year.