The Abu Dhabi Global Market Registration Authority, ADGM RA, today announced the enactment of several incentives for new businesses, aimed at supporting the establishment of their operations amid the COVID-19 pandemic and reinforcing the holistic offerings of ADGM’s ecosystem.
These incentives will commence on 3 May 2020 and are an extension of ADGM’s larger suite of support measures recently announced to mitigate the adverse impact of COVID-19 on businesses in the financial free zone located in Al Maryah Island.
The new incentives include a 50 percent reduction on fees associated with the incorporation of new ADGM companies and limited liability partnerships (including branches). The incentives will be applicable until 31 December 2020 to ADGM’s new applicants for financial, non-financial and retail license types, excluding Special Purpose Vehicles, ADGM Foundations, Venture Capital firms, Tech Start Up applicants (seed and emergent), Accelerators and Incubators and Professional Associations. In addition, companies wishing to continue into ADGM from a foreign jurisdiction will receive a reduction of 100 percent on the continuation fee.
Lastly, existing ADGM companies and limited liability partnerships are now able to request an extension on the nine month timeline for filing of annual accounts by demonstrating to the Registrar the circumstances hindering their ability to comply with such obligation. An extension of up to three months may be granted. Further details on the new incentives can be found on the ADGM website.
Dhaher bin Dhaher Al Mheiri, CEO of the ADGM Registration Authority, said: “We are committed to serving as an anchor for entities seeking to establish a presence in ADGM and leveraging our resilient ecosystem to support business formation, continuity and growth. The UAE government has introduced robust measures to support businesses during this turbulent time and we, as part of Abu Dhabi’s vibrant ecosystem, continuously endeavour to align ourselves with the UAE’s greater vision. As such, the ADGM Registration Authority has introduced these measures to ensure that potential ADGM entities receive sufficient support in establishing their operations in our community. The incentives announced are an extension of the several measures that ADGM has introduced earlier this month as we move to safeguard the growth, and assist in the stability, of our entities and look to continuously foster our thriving business environment. We will continue to provide our new and existing entities with the necessary guidance and assistance to establish their operations and continue to grow amid the COVID-19 pandemic.”
ADGM has previously introduced a series of measures that aim to mitigate the implications of COVID-19 on its entities, including a 50 percent waiver on the imposed ADGM FSRA supervision fee and a 100 percent waiver on the renewal of commercial licensing fees, including the business activity renewal fees and the data protection renewal fees imposed by the ADGM RA, which will be applicable until 25 March 2021.
ADGM has, and will continue to, actively provide its community with the necessary guidance in an attempt to safeguard the health and safety of all employees, businesses and visitors of Al Maryah Island. ADGM will continue to monitor the situation closely and act in line with the measures implemented by the UAE government to assist in mitigating the risks of the COVID-19 outbreak on its community and the wider UAE economy.
