Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone registered more than 1,700 new companies last year as the northern emirate burnished its role as a haven for firms seeking low rents and fees.
RAK's free trade zone signed up 1,740 companies planning to set up operations there last year. It also grew its revenues up 10 per cent, without disclosing figures.
RAK FTZ competes with centres such as Jebel Ali Free Zone (Jafza) - the oldest free trade zone in the UAE with more than 6,000 businesses and served by Jebel Ali Port, the region's largest deepwater port handling 11 million containers each year. Together, Jafza and the Jebel Ali Port contribute about 25 per cent to Dubai's GDP, and this success has led to other emirates to create similar economic clusters, such as RAK FTZ, which said it has more than 5,000 actively operational registered companies.
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"Our open door economic development policy has gone a long way towards gaining the confidence of investors from across the globe, which has led to increased capital investment in our free zone," said Oussama el Omari (ck) the chief executive of RAK FTZ, which is one of several industrial clusters, along with RAK Maritime City free zone, that are building the northern emirate's industrial base.
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