RAK trade zone eyes state firms

Plans to attract at least 200 companies from India

The Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) Free Trade Zone in the United Arab Emirates has invited entrepreneurs from the state to set up base in the free trade zone.

Of the 13 FTZs in the UAE, the RAK, set up in May 2000, is the latest.

"We already have 420 industries in the FTZ. We are looking to add at least 200 companies from India by the end of the current year. Gujarat is being targeted for its entrepreneurship skills of the industrialists here," said Shankar Bharathan, a member of the marketing department of the FTZ.

The Ras Al Khaimah free trade zone made a presentation in Ahmedabad on Wednesday and will participate in exhibitions in other major cities of Gujarat.

"Gujarat industries at present account for 15 per cent of all Indian industries that have set up base in the RAK FTZ. We expect Gujarat's share to go up to over 30 per cent by December," Bharathan said.

He said close to 40 per cent of the industries that have set up units in the RAK FTZ are from India.

The free trade zone offers 100 per cent ownership without a local sponsor, 100 per cent tax-free operations, 100 per cent capital and profit repatriation and is the first FTZ to offer promotion services to Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Licences are issued under three categories "" manufacturing, trading and services.

Bharathan said among the 13 FTZs in the UAE, the RAK Free Trade Zone is the fastest-growing. This is primarily because it offers tailor-made solutions for entrepreneurs.

"We are the most aggressively growing free trade zone in the region and are looking at more and more Gujarat companies to set up base in the FTZ," Bharathan said.

Bharathan said unlike other FTZs, the RAK Free Trade Zone has revolutionised the way the FTZs function by segregating business activities according to function, operational requirements and the needs of the surrounding communities.

The authorities have created a system of three free zone parks that will suit and serve the needs of every investor, Bharathan said.

Each of the three parks "" the Business Park, the Industrial Park and the Technology Park "" offers identical advantages and benefits to investors.

"Apart from the big advantage of gaining access to international markets, the prices are perhaps the most competitive in the FTZ," Bharathan said. He said for a typical small or medium enterprise, an office along with all other basic requirements will not cost more than 25,000 Dirhams a year.

Lease periods vary from one year to 15 years and these are renewable on expiry, Bharathan said.

FTZs in the Middleeast have been eyeing Gujarat for investments. In less than three months, similar meetings with industrialists of Gujarat have been held by the SAIF Free Trade Zone and Ajman Free Trade Zone.