Ras Al Khaimah organised the 2nd Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) Business Investment Forum in New Delhi on Wednesday. Held in collaboration with KPMG, the event was geared towards drawing more Indian manufacturers to Ras Al Khaimah’s industrial ecosystem.
Addressing the forum, CEO of RAKEZ, Ramy Jallad said, India is deeply rooted in RAKEZ’s DNA. To put that into context, RAKEZ hosts over 3,100 SMEs and over 230 industrialists from India, making up to nearly a quarter of the economic zone’s total company population. Solely this year, RAKEZ has registered nearly 700 companies out of the over 11,000 enquiries it has received from Indian businessmen since January.
Speaking to The Pioneer on taxation system in the region, he said, “When it comes taxes, it is federal Government issue but if you talk about RAK, it is an economic zone. As an economic Zone — we provide incentives with our commercial incentive. We give special incentives on the price of our products and services depending on the requirement of the client. The UAE and GCC have introduced VAT in the beginning of this year where taxes and VATs are applicable to all. We personally as RAKEZ cannot influence that, but, I believe that when it comes to commercial business, Indian investors see benefit being in the RAK because of cost effectiveness. RAK is around 25% to 50% more cost effective compare to other part of the world, and that is what they want.”
RAKEZ saw interest from manufacturing leaders in the fields of food and beverage, pharmaceuticals, and consumer care, among others. The forum is expected to support the continuous growth of RAKEZ’s industrial sector which experienced a 28% increase this year, from 600 manufacturing companies in 2017 to now more than 770.
Among RAKEZ’s Indian success stories are Ashok Leyland, one of the leading automotive assembly company; Dabur, a personal care and products maker; and GK Technologies, a steel structure manufacturer.