Company formation specialist

Adam Holdings now sets-up a Freezone for a Nation

Dubai, UAE; May 07, 2012:

Adam Holdings, a leading wealth management consultancy and specialist in UAE company formation, has signed a joint venture agreement with the Industrial Free Zone & Innovations Technology, Republic of Togolaise.

This opportunity was indentified at the Annual Investment Meeting recently organized in Dubai by the UAE, Ministry of Foreign Trade.

Dr. Tahir Akhtar, CEO and Ms. Valerie Naidoo, Business Consultant at Adam Holdings, met Mr. Michel Akue, Counsel General of Zone Franche Togo, a Multi-Commodity company in Togo, Africa which aimed to setup a freezone company in UAE, an area of specialization of Adam Holdings. Dr. Akhtar was then introduced to with Mr. Fofana Bakalawa - Minister for Industry Free Zone & Innovations Technology, Republic of Togolaise by Mr. Akue.

Subsequently, on May 06, 2012 the pact was signed in a meeting between “Government of Togo” and Adam Holdings at ADAM Holdings head office in Gold & Diamond Park – Dubai as its consultant to bring Foreign Direct Investment in various sectors of the economy.

Posted in Dubai Business | No Comments »

ADAM Offshore: Special New Year Offer

Offshore Company Formation

Posted in Dubai Business, News & Events | No Comments »

UAE Mainland Company Formation (Pt 1)

United Arab Emirates has grown tremendously in the past 40 years which is believed to take others 100 years to match. UAE, unlike other oil rich countries, did not bank on reaping through its depleting resource, but in developing and nurturing the talent pool they shall sustain their growth and build on it.

UAE’s vision of developing its strategic location as a global business hub, has attracted businesses from all over the world and its tax free legal structure was a cherry on top.

Incorporating a business in the UAE is considered challenging for many partly due to the language barrier and partly due to the endless list of processes that it needs to go through. We, as consultants, are here to bridge the same gap between the entrepreneur and the government, and form a structure that best fits the client’s needs.

Our oncoming discussions will feature the pros and cons of establishing businesses in the UAE and what sets it apart from the rest.

Posted in Dubai Business | No Comments »

Offshore Company Formation (Pt 3)

Asset Protection

For many people, the fundamental purpose behind offshore company is to protect business and assets.

Due to well-regulated offshore jurisdictions, offshore companies and accounts are the safest and best way to protect your assets from the tax-man, creditors and inheritance taxes.

It is not uncommon to hear of governments seizing all expat-owned wealth, which has left family members with nothing and years of hard work gone in moments.

In Dubai, asset protection is non-existent for expats. Due to the Islamic Sharia Law, there are several complications in how personal wealth is treated by the Government of Islamic nations.

To maintain your offshore accounts and asset protection, there isn’t much you have to do and there is a lot of flexibility regarding doing this.

You only need one director or shareholder to form a company
Shareholders and directors may be the same person
The shareholders and directors can be either a normal person or a corporate body

An offshore company is the perfect entity for enabling individuals to achieve asset protection.

Assets can be owned by this legal structure rather than directly by an individual or a company.

Next discussion will feature the element of holding

Posted in Dubai Business | No Comments »

Offshore Company Formation (pt 2)

‘Offshore: A Tax haven’
Offshore’s inception is based on ‘tax free jurisdictions’ principle. This allows for entities to avoid unnecessary taxation in their local place of operation and repatriation of capital/profits in a foreign country. An offshore allows the owner to invoice clients internationally and use its bank account to facilitate transactions.

Source: Guardian UK

Scenario: Company A (Supplier) sells goods to Company B (Buyer). In doing so there are multiple taxes involved that directly or indirectly affect either the costs of the goods or the profit margin. If Company A has an offshore Company C, they can invoice its client, Company B, through this entity and use its bank account to avoid incurring surcharges.

There is distinction between avoiding taxes and evading taxation. Offshores are used by conglomerates or individuals to avoid unnecessary taxations, for example, for transferring ones ownership of the asset to its next of kin.

On the contrary, evading taxes is considered an illegal practice while a few even shun this legal structure altogether. In this case offshores are used to evade all sorts of taxes like income tax.

In the next discussion, we will look in to the element of Asset Protection.

Posted in Dubai Business | No Comments »

Eurozone bonds suffer massive sell offs and the Eurozone turmoil

Eurozone bonds hit by mass sell-off and the Eurozone turmoil

The Eurozone bond market was hit by a massive sell of this month because of investor fears. Investor fears spread beyond Spain and Italy to other triple A rated countries such as France, Austria, Finland and the Netherlands. The premium that France pays over Germany rose to a Euro era record of 192 basis points and the premium that Austria pays over Germany rose to a Euro era record of 184 basis points. Markets are losing patience so they are going for the jugular, which are the core countries not the periphery. There is convergence but it is convergence on the weakest. All main Eurozone countries were affected by the rise in bond yields. The only country that wasn’t affected was Germany, and this suggests that the sovereign debt problems are entering a new phase. Italian bond yields moved above 7 percent, a position that is viewed as unsustainable. Spanish premium to Germany hit 482 bp. Traders said there were few buyers in many bond markets, with only the European Central Bank active in Italy and Spain.

German frustrations over Britain’s approach to the Eurozone crisis erupted when a close ally of Angela Merkel accused the UK of selfishness. Volker Kauder criticised Britain for opposing a European tax of financial transactions. He said that the UK was only defending its own interests and not that of the EU. Ms Merkel has urged the Eurozone to move ahead with the Tobin Tax if Britain continued to block the measure. The Eurozone should raise funds from the financial sector to help cash strapped governments. Mr Kauder told the CDU that annual conference that “The British are not members of the currency union but they are members of Europe and they have a responsibility for the success of Europe”. George Osborne, Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, has called the Tobin tax plan a bullet aim at the heart of London.

President Nicolas Sarkozy announced a review of the funding of Frances social welfare system on Tuesday, the 15 th of November. In his review, he stated that the heavy labour costs it imposed hurt the economy and the country’s ability to compete internationally. The French employees appealed to the country’s politicians for structural reforms to cut labour costs, regenerate growth and overturn a big gap in economic performance between France and Germany that has damaged France ability to withstand the pressures of the Eurozone crisis. Mr Sarkozy intends to appoint an advisory council at the end of the year that will be responsible for proposing ways to reduce the weight of taxation on work. “We must rethink the system of financing our social system”, Mr. Sarkozy said. “The very high cost of labour in our country penalizes our economy and penalizes France in international competition”. Medef, the French business confederation, and Afep, the association of private enterprise, complained that France had lost ground to neighboring country, Germany in terms of export market share, balance of payments, fiscal strength and cost of labour and production.

Negotiators for Greek debt holders have offered to swap their bonds for new ones worth half their face value, but only if the new bonds contain high interest rates and have extra incentives, including annual payments if the Greek economy recovers. The confidential offer was proposed to the Greek authorities and it also insisted that the new bonds be issued under British rather than Greek law. Greek officials are expected to present their own counter proposal when talks begins over the bonds. The negotiations are intended to finalise details of the highly –touted deal struck on October 27 in which the Institute of International Finance agreed to take a 50 percent  haircut in the face value of their bonds. The deal left open questions on how the 50% hair cut would be achieved. Tweaks in interest rates and maturities for bonds used in swaps for the haircut can have a critical effect on how much bond holders are able to recoup, enabling them to achieve less of a hit on the net present value of their holdings than the headline number announced by the European leaders.

Posted in Article, DBA News, Dubai Business, Innovation, News & Events | No Comments »

Offshore Company formation

The term offshore denotes an activity which is outside the jurisdiction of one’s primary operation. There are multiple offshore jurisdictions out there that provide a tax free haven for corporates while maintaining anonymity.

My Following discussions will feature various key points of an Offshore that stands it out from the rest:
Anonymity: An offshore company ensures anonymity of the operator. While only a few offshores publicise the director’s information, all of them ensure anonymity of the owner/shareholder. Its formation is beneficial to the individuals who are keen on keeping their details private, for example, for financial transactions, avoiding taxes or holding assets, etc. The anonymity of an individual is comprised only in the case of illegal or criminal activities by the offshore company. Non-conformity with the international regulations and laws can also lead to this disclosure of information to the enforcing authority. Economic turmoil has given an exponential rise to this legal structure for avoiding taxes, anonymously.

In my next discussion, we will discuss its feature of Tax-free haven

Posted in Dubai Business | No Comments »

Doing Business in UAE

ESTABLISHING A BUSINESS

In the UAE, regulation of the establishment and conduct of businesses is shared at the federal and emirate levels. There are two paths for doing business in the UAE: through joint partnerships or through a Free Zone.

Joint Partnership

In order to establish a business that sells products or services freely throughout the UAE, at least 51 percent of the business must be owned by a UAE national. (Forming this type of joint partnership is the best and easiest way to establish a business in the UAE.) All businesses require a license and licensing procedures vary from Emirate to Emirate. Specific information is available at individual Chambers of Commerce

Free Zones

Establishing a business entity in one of the numerous UAE Free Trade Zones (FTZs) can be an attractive option for foreign investors and businesses. All seven Emirates already have, or are developing, such economic zones. The major advantages in operating in a free zone are:

• 100 per cent foreign ownership of the enterprise
• 100 per cent import and export tax exemptions
• 100 per cent repatriation of capital and profits
• No corporate taxes for 15 years, renewable for an additional 15 years
• No personal income taxes
• Less burdensome documentation, mostly in English
• Assistance with labor recruitment, and additional support services such as sponsorship and housing.

There are over 20,000 companies in 21 Free Zones around the UAE. The largest Free Zones, by number of companies, are the following:

• Jebel Ali Free Zone (6,000 companies)
• Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (3,900 companies)
• Dubai Airport Free Zone (1,300 companies)
• Dubai Media City (1,200 companies)
• Dubai Internet City (1,000 companies)

Procedures

An independent Free Zone Authority (FZA) governs each free zone and is responsible for issuing FTZ operating licenses and assisting companies with establishing their business in the FTZ. Investors can either register a new company in the form of a Free Zone Establishment (FZE) — a limited liability company governed by the rules and regulations of the Free Zone in which it is established — or simply establish a branch or representative office of their existing company based within the UAE or abroad. The procedures for establishing a business in a Free Trade Zone are usually very straightforward and can be completed in a short space of time, especially if there are no environmental issues involved. Individual Free Zones may have specific requirements, but general steps are:

• Questionnaire from the relevant Free Zone Authority which will assist in assessing a company’s requirements
• License application, planning documents, and a consumer request for electricity
• Provisional approval and lease agreement
• Meetings with the authority to finalize details of the project

Licenses

Once a legal presence has been established in the Free Zone, the business will need to lease premises or land and acquire an operating license from the FZA. Different types of licenses apply in the different types of free zone, however, it is important to understand that companies with trade and industrial licenses can only conduct business within the Free Zone or abroad. To sell products in the UAE, a UAE official agent is required, and a joint venture needs to be formed.

When not to choose a Free Zone

There are a few scenarios in which a prospective company might not want to choose to do business in a Free Zone, and should instead opt for a regular joint partnership. These are if a company:

• Practices a regulated profession
• Requires a lot of visas or warehouse/office space
• Plans a long presence in the UAE and wants to reach a wider portion of the UAE market
• Has a particular UAE company or individual with which to partner

Key Industries

Sectors with strongest demand and opportunity include:

• Construction services
• Materials and supplies
• Defense – Aerospace
• Energy – Alternative Energy
• Professional services
• Select tourism products/services
• High end hotel brands
• Creative/profitable arts and culture entertainment products
• High end, strongly - branded medical service providers and cutting edge products

Posted in Dubai Business | No Comments »

After the Property Crash - The Dubai Real Estate Market

The real estate market in Dubai is showing signs of recovery after a 3 year slump. The real estate market in Dubai was worth around $31 billion at its peak in 2008. However, the mood today is one of cautious optimism as the market is now showing signs of recovery from the recession’s period. At this year’s Cityscape Global event in Dubai, investors had a more business to business atmosphere than in previous years. According to Jones Land LaSalle rental prices in the office and residential sectors are bottoming out and the retail and hotel sectors are already showing a growth buoyed by tourism. This follows a dip of around 18.6 percent in the real estate sector in 2009 and a recovery by around 2.5 percent in real terms in 2010 according to the National Bureau of Statistics. The real estate’s sectors contribution to the real GDP grew exponentially from Dhs 95.6 billion in 2006 to Dhs 111.1 billion in 2007 and to  Dhs 114 billion in 2008 before slumping to Dhs 92.7 billion in 2009. As a result of the real estate crash, the prices of property in Dubai plummeted 60 percent in Dubai. The result of this was that many projects and unplanned constructions where put on hold or even shelved. However, there were other factors at play. For example, the continued government spending on infrastructure, including the Dubai Metro and new roads, and visitor numbers increasing, the real estate sector rebounded to Dhs 95.1 billion in 2010.

One of the hardest hit developers during the real estate crash was Nakheel, which is currently undergoing a Dhs 16 billion debt restructuring programme and has been handed $8.71 billion bt the government and written off Dhs 78.6 billion of its real estate assets due to the emirates property crisis. Nakheel followed the ambitious Palm Jumeirah project with other projects such as other man made palm shaped islands in Deira and Jebel Ali, including the World. These projects left Nakheel exposed during the global financial crisis. But the company is expected to post profits by the end of 2011. The Arab spring has confirmed Dubai as a safe haven for tourists and investors alike. This is because Dubai has benefited from the Arab spring and has seen the rise in tourism and visitors. The Hotel and retail markets have benefited extremely from the Arab spring. But as a result of the sovereign debt crisis in Europe, the outlook here in the UAE has been one of caution. It is no longer about new product launches it is about existing projects. There are very few end users at Cityscape; it is now more an event for B2B contractors and suppliers. There has been a transition and it is more realistic with the overall market becoming a lot quieter because sales activities and the projects have slowed with people reassessing process making it all much more competitive.

The retail sector is growing because tourism is such a major part of the retail sector. The villa sector is starting to improve and the residential sector is starting to improve too. Apartment rentals are still declining, but there will be growth in the residential sector rents in 2012. However, the big cloud hanging over the market is the Eurozone and the US Recovery as Dubai is very closely linked. Recovery is expected to continue especially with the deal made by the Eurozone on the Greek debt crisis. This is seen as having a positive impact and a good effect on the UAE economic future. The Office market is feeling the brunt of the economic crisis and is the worst performer of all the markets. The Jones Lang LaSalle report points out key drivers for the Dubai real estate market stemming from the increase in passenger traffic to Dubai international Airport, increasing by 15 percent in 2010 and continuing to increase in 2011, and hotel occupancy rates at 78 percent as of July 2011, up on the 60 percent as of July 2009

Posted in Article, DBA News, Dubai Business, News & Events | No Comments »

World Economic Forum: Global business and government experts met in Abu Dhabi to address rapid globalisation and rising sovereign debt

The UAE participated in the 2011 G20 summit in Cannes and it also hosted IRENA, the global clean energy body. This shows and indicates that the UAE is increasingly becoming a global citizen in economic affairs around the world. According to leading political figures at the third World Economic Forum Summit in Abu Dhabi last month, this is a good indication of where the UAE is headed. Over 800 leading experts in academia, business and government convened in the UAE capital to discuss new models for the world’s most pressing challenges, including public debt, climate change and food security.

The continuing uncertain global economic outlook could drive a wedge between international interests if left unchecked. Unstable financial markets combined with rapid globalization and technology uptake are all new factors stoking the need for urgent global conversations. The rise in global wealth has lead to a richer world for many, but many millions are poorer than ever. There is a global inequality. We need to rethink our global competitiveness strategy because we need to address the quality of economic growth. Velocity and country interconnectivity have become so complex at the tipping point that the whole system may collapse. We need new models to survive. The great recession has blinded us to the great revolution.

In addition to increased connectivity across countries and continents, globalization has been paralleled by a shift in power towards the East, as China continues on its incredible growth trajectory and the US buckles under debt pressure and stagnant jobs data. In the last century, global production and consumption was heavily weighted to the west, but recent years have seen a dramatic shift as the BRICS consume and produce more global resources that ever before. Only 40 percent of the worlds production output is in the West and only 43 percent of investment goes to the West. The world is changing very fast. Producers and consumers must work together at this historical juncture.

The prolonged indecision on Europe’s debt woes has also set the stage for mistrust and a need for increased global co-operation. Europe is at the epicenter of today’s crisis. It has fiscal, banking and growth problems and the Euro will not survive. The European Central Bank will have to work to find a solution. What happens in one continent affects another. In a recent WEF poll of 1500 CEOs and academics, less than 10 percent of respondents expressed confidence in the state of global governance over the next 12 months. The world urgently needs to rebuild trust in leaders, government systems and among countries if the international community is to shape new models to solve global challenges

Posted in Article, DBA News, Dubai Business, News & Events | No Comments »