From the Managing Partner – UAE

Season’s Greetings & hope we all have a prosperous last quarter in 2019.

The triumphant entry and return of Hazza Al Mansouri – the first Emirati in space, was a moment of pride or all nationals and residents of the UAE. Expo 2020 is about a year away and its countdown has commenced. It is likely to result in enhanced business opportunities for many sectors. With all the initiatives announced by the government, all the indications are in place that the UAE is headed in the right direction and businesses are likely to take advantage of the initiatives.

There have been some creative moves by the Dubai government in recent  times. It recently introduced the Virtual Commercial City in conjunction with  the DIFC – a venture that offers a virtual company license to nonresidents. This license is meant for freelancers and business persons globally to have  access to a regulated e-commerce platform and easily work with Dubai-based companies. This license focusses on creative, technology and service industries.

HH. Sheikh Mohammed also launched the long-term cultural visa – a first of its  kind around the world. This move is meant to attract artists, authors and innovators and establish Dubai as an incubator for regional and international talent. This fits in perfectly with HH. Sheikh Mohammed’s cultural vision for Dubai – turning it into a global hub for culture.

The Ministry of Finance recently announced the economic substance  guidelines following the regulations that were released in April 2019. The vision to align the UAE to the global tax network and ensure that compliance standards are world class, seem closer to fruition than ever before. An update covering the basics of the UAE Economic Substance Regulations and the  recent guidelines is covered in this issue.

The issue carries an interview with an industry stalwart – Mr. Ashok Odhrani, Founder and Chairman of Super Technical Enterprises LLC. Included also is an article by our guest columnist – Mr. Vikram Venkatraman of Vianta Advisors DMCC and IT Security Assessment article, which sheds light on IT threats.

Do write to us update@pkfuae.com for expressing your opinion on any matter included in the newsletter.

Stany Pereira