Across the world, there are numerous countries that offer an attractive business environment. Selecting a country can be a challenging task for a foreign entrepreneur as there are plenty of aspects that have to be considered. Some of the main important aspects that influence the registration of a company in a given foreign country refer to the friendly policies toward foreign investors (for example, the right of full foreign ownership), the capital requirements, the variety of company types available for incorporation and, of course, the tax benefits a company can obtain.
Besides these, the quality of the local workforce should also be taken into consideration and also the business culture of the selected country; there are plenty of differences between the manner in which businessmen interact in Europe compared to those in Asia or in the Middle East.
For example, the Middle East has changed its policies towards foreign investors, becoming a more open region to western businesses. Here, the preferred manner of doing business is face to face and it is less common to handle business matters via e-mail or on the phone. In the Middle East, businessmen can find various free zones that are created to promote the development of a specific business sector and they provide a wide range of tax exemptions; customarily, only few types of taxes are applied. This is also the case of Dubai, where foreign investors can find more than 30 free zones.
Starting a company in Dubai in a free zone has the advantage of being exempted from the corporate income tax and also of paying one of the world’s smallest value added taxes. The repatriation of profits is also exempted from taxation and foreign businessmen can enjoy the tax advantages prescribed under the tax treaties signed here.
As a foreigner, this city can be a perfect option, as it is mostly inhabited by foreign nationals (approximately 90% of them). As a natural person, a foreigner can benefit here from a full exemption on the payment of the personal income tax and, as a business, the company will be exempted from the payment of the corporate income tax and the capital gains tax, for certain fields of activity.
In terms of its top economic sectors, businessmen can invest in fields such as: construction, real estate, automotive, aviation, logistics, trade or healthcare. Dentistry in Dubai, a sub-sector of the healthcare industry, registered at the level of 2016 a total of 548 private dental clinics, with an increasing number of dentists operating here (2,094 in 2016, compared to 1,220 in 2010).
The development of the healthcare sector in Dubai was an effect of the relevant investments in top medical devices and this can be an attractive way to start a business here, considering that the city is known as a place which provides high quality medical services. An advantage of entering this business sector is that the city is a top destination for medical tourists patients, with an increasing number of persons arriving here for medical treatments (the market expanded from 107,000 persons in 2012 to 326,000 medical tourists in 2016).
