Dubai, 27 May 2015: The Department of Economic Development (DED) in Dubai and Servcorp, world's finest serviced office provider, have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) under which Servcorp will offer investors with a suite of services relating to business registration and licensing in Dubai.
The partnership, which is first of its kind in the Middle East, will allow investors to reserve trade names, obtain initial approvals and renew or cancel their licenses in Dubai through 144 Servcorp service centres in 22 countries including the UAE, US, Australia, UK and Singapore.
The MoU is part of DED's strategy to facilitate business activity and company formation in Dubai by enabling businessmen and investors to complete their transactions within the least possible time. It will also help reinforce Dubai's business leadership and competitiveness ranking in the World Bank report on Doing Business.
As an authorised service agency of DED, the Servcorp network will provide the following online business registration and licensing services of DED: Trade name reservation, Renewal of reserved trade name, License renewal, Initial approval, Registration of new e-account, Appointment (reservation, amendment or cancellation), Print license, Amendment of license holder data and any other technical service.
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The agreement was signed by Omar Bushahab, CEO of Business Registration and Licensing (BRL) sector in DED, and Mrs Laudy Lahdo, General Manager for Servcorp in the Middle East, in the presence of His Excellency Sami Al Qamzi, Director General of DED, Mr. Gerard Seeber, Senior Trade Commissioner and Consul General at Australian Trade Commission in Dubai, and senior executives from DED and its agencies as well as a number of prominent investors and businessmen in Dubai.
"Concerted efforts and public-private partnership initiatives are critical to adding value to the economy of Dubai and hence, we are pleased to be partners with Servcorp as it would improve efficiencies and create an exceptional service environment aligned with the best international standards and practices in Dubai for the sake of businesses worldwide,” Bushahab remarked.
“The BRL sector will train Servcorp employees in our electronic procedures and they will be kept updated on any improvements in the processes or technology related to such services. Both sides will also hold regular meetings to ensure service efficiency and discuss suggestions and complaints regarding service quality and improvements needed,” said Bushahab.
The new partnership brings varied benefits for Dubai and the UAE in general as the Servcorp offices in different countries will be able to provide adequate information and respond promptly to customer queries regarding doing business in Dubai, added Bushahab. “It's part of our strategy to enhance communication and simplify procedures and we will launch more such initiatives in future to realise the vision of the Government of Dubai.”
Mrs Lahdo emphasised that the MoU will strengthen the existing relations between DED and Servcorp. “Our offices are fully compliant with DED's regulations governing business centres and with this new dedicated BRL department, the licensing process has become faster and easier. This agreement is aligned with the business values and online nature of our business, providing our clients with a great advantage. The online nature of this process has accelerated and simplified the procedure of business set-up and license renewals. Its greatest advantage is its accessibility at any of our local, regional and global serviced offices.”
Mrs Lahdo added: “Servcorp clients now have a distinct competitive edge. In addition to having access to fully furnished offices at the most sought after addresses in Dubai and across the world, as well as benchmark technology, they now will have an in-house specialised team to assist them with their licensing requirements.”
