RAK Free Trade Zone RAKFTZ

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RAK Free Trade Zones - information about RAKFTZ and other free zones in Ras Al Khaimah (RAK).

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Some good news out of RAK for a change. The Gulf News usually seems to take great delight in publishing stories of witchcraft or ghosts or tainted camel meat from RAK. GN 18 September 2006 report (might have been a press release) headed "RAK aims to become offshore tax haven," by Shakir Husain gave details of a new initiative from the Ras Al Khaimah government about setting up another "offshore tax haven".

• Initiative to be called the "International Companies Registry"
• Foreign investors can register offshore companies in the Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAK FTZ) without having a physical presence in the emirate
• RAKFTZ Chairman is Sheikh / Shaikh Faisal Bin Saqr Al Qasimi.
• RAK FTZ CEO is Osama Al Omari
• This is the second UAE offshore company zone, the first is the Jebel Ali Offshore Centre established in Dubai in 2003. The offshore centers are intended to compete with similar setups in the Cayman Islands, Bahamas and Liechtenstein
• Mr Al Omari reportedly said to the Gulf News "We are expecting to register 5,000 companies within three years,"
• MA Rafik, a managing partner with Pannell Kerr Forster business consultants in Dubai, said "companies will not rush to register."
• Money launderers are not welcome - Mr Al Omari was quoted as saying "We are appointing three top international law firms to make sure that all these companies that are registering in this programme follow international law and anti-money laundering requirements."
• Offshore companies registered in RAK will only need 1 director.
• Account auditing not required.
• Companies registered in RAK (or maybe the new RAK FTZ initiative) do not need to disclose the owner's identity by issuing "bearer shares" according to Raju Menon, managing partner with Morison Menon Chartered Accountants although the government can ask for the identity to be revealed.
• Inheritance laws are flexible also according to Mr Menon who was quoted saying "A company can decide which country's laws it wants applied for inheritance,"

[edit: section about the new RAK Industrial Free Trade Zone moved to next post]

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New RAK Industrial Free Trade Zone

The same GN report (18 September 2006) also had details of an expansion to the current Ras Al Khaimah FTZ.

• New FTZ area of 27 square km for heavy industry - Mr Al Omari was quoted as saying "The new zone will cater mainly to heavy industries that require large space,"
• As of September 2006, RAK FTZ has 2,147 companies, with many from India and Iran.
• Company business activities are split 15% industrial and 85% trading and services.
• RAK FTZ established in 2000
• New company registrations about 100-150 per month, according to Mr Al Omari in the GN report

[edit: separated RAK Industrial FTZ information from previous post, pending possible new topic eventually]