Introduction

Jebal Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA) is is considered to be the world’s economic zone flagship operation. One of the world’s largest and the fastest growing free zones. It was established in 1985, Jafza today is spread over an area of 48 sq. kms and is home to over 6400 companies, including over 120 of the Fortune Global 500 enterprises, from across the world. It is a leading driver of the burgeoning UAE economy. With its impeccable track record, Jafza stands for improvement, customer centricity, transparent operations and entrepreneurial dynamism.

Parent & Sister Companies
As mentioned in the introduction that JAFZA is part of Economic Zone World (EZW). Which is the global developer and operator of economic zones, technology, logistics and industrial parks under the Dubai World Group. The sister companies of JAFZA are TechnoPark, Glazeley, Dubai Auto Zone (DAZ).

Attracting Foreign Investors with new inbound projects and the expansion of existing businesses during 2009-10.A combination of an excellent investment atmosphere and a customer-centric business policy have helped raise the number of investors from outside the Middle East to 3,500 - 54 per cent of the total of 6,512 companies in Jafza. The number rises to 5,125 when regional investors, other than from the six GCC states, are added.
This sterling performance has enabled Jafza to play a central role in the flow of foreign investments into the country, which amounted to US$ 69 billion, according to figures announced by the UAE Ministry of Economy in June 2010.
Salma Hareb, CEO, Economic Zones World, said; “Jafza consistently strives to contribute to the national drive to attract foreign investments. This has been a focus for us over the past 25 years. We are proud and privileged to be a factor in the nation’s economic development in a measurable way. We remain committed to continually creating an ideal environment for investors to use as a gateway to the entire region, and beyond.”
Asian and European companies, that have been steadily increasing their profile in the free zone, include many from China, India and Russia, three of the four economic powerhouses that form the BRIC group (the fourth being Brazil).
Between 1999 and Q2 of 2010, the number of companies in Jafza grew exponentially - from 1,134 to 6,550, a growth of almost 600 per cent. The investment flow, which was growing at a steady pace, saw a steep rise in 2003 when the boom set in and continued until the start of the recession in 2008.
The growth did not stop even during the downturn, with the number of companies rising from 6,179 in 2008 to 6,413 in 2009 and 6,550 by Q2 of this year. In the first half of this year, Jafza has leased 572 new facilities (63 per cent more than 350 for the same period in 2009). 200 of these have been existing customers expanding, which is a positive indicator of the recovery of the economy.
In H1 2010, Jafza has received an impressive number of inbound projects. New arrivals so far have included Mitsubishi Corporation, Petrochina, JVC Professional, Proclad Stream-Flo, Schoeller-Bleckman and Isuzu Motors, among others.
Jafza is also witnessing a sharp rise in the number of manufacturing units. There has been a 50% growth in the number of manufacturing units between 2005 and 2009. Even between 2008 and 2009, when the regional economy was hard hit by global recession the number of new entrants in the industrial sector in Jafza saw a growth of 40 per cent.
Salma Hareb added; “There has been a qualitative improvement in the FDI that Jafza has attracted over the past two years, with proportionately more well-established manufacturers and service providers moving here in search of stable operational bases. Our value proposition was, and continues to be, integrated infrastructure, the best international practices and exceptional customer service.”
25 years from its inception in 1985, Jafza’s key strength remains an ideal set of logistics matrices which allow the fastest lead times for the movement of goods. Its competitiveness, measured as per World Bank parameters, including ‘Ease of Doing Business’; ‘Dealing with Licenses’; ‘Employing Workers’; and ‘Registering Property’ rank it No. 1 in the Middle East today.

Facilities to Investors

Offices: Our cost efficient offices provide ample working space and are fully maintained and pre-fitted with all utilities such as electricity, water, air - conditioning, and modern communication. Designed to be adaptable and user-friendly, the offices have spacious, flexible floor plans that can accommodate specific interior design requests and can incorporate future expansion.
Standard Warehouse: We offer pre-built facilities for warehouses and factories to customers to meet their needs for high quality storage and light manufacturing.
Land: these are ready infrastructure plots of various sizes that we offer you to construct your own facilities such as warehouses, factories or offices. Land plot sizes range from 2500 sqm up to any size requested by the customers.
Build-to-suit Warehouses: We also now offer customers the Gazeley build-to-suit capability. These are warehouses are customised as per the customer’s specifications. Gazeley can deliver build-to-suit warehouses from 10,000 m² on a leasehold or freehold basis to suit customers’ needs within Jafza and across the UAE region.
Business Centre: Business Centers World (BCW), ready-to-use, fully furnished and equipped offices and meeting rooms. Business centers are designed for your short term or long term use.
Showrooms: Each unit contains a warehouse at the rear with a glass façade showroom frontage. The showroom features a mezzanine floor, which is used as office space. The units are designed for your product display as well as storage and distribution.
On Site Residential: An accommodation within Jafza which is provided for company employees that are established within the zone. Its proximity and facilities such as recreational activities, supermarkets and restaurants provide an ideal environment for you and your employees.
Hotels: Easy Hotel; A budget hotel (2 stars) with 216 rooms that offers absolutely first class ‘sleep and shower’ experience at an affordable price for visitors to the area. easyHotels is the first budget hotels in the world with sustainability built into its design.
Convention Centre: Housing two 34-storey business towers, an exhibition centre, a 600-seat auditorium and catering area, as well as a 322 room hotel, the complex will cater to the Jafza business community’s growing needs.
Retail: We offer you the opportunity to establish their own retail outlets, which enables them to sell their products.

One Stop Shop: We offer you all the services required in order to establish and operate a business in the free zone, thus saving time, effort, and cost . Giving you the advantage to focus on your business rather than dealing with multiple entities whenever they need to carry out a transaction.
Regulatory: We act as the sole regulatory body dealing with the customers. The key units possessing the authoritative role with regard to granting permits and offering governmental services are, property department, operations department, civil engineering department and group environment, and health and safety division.
Advisory and updating: We can assist you in setting up a business and selecting desirable sites or locations for your venture. This will also help you determine operational requirements and, additionally, keeps you updated on various developments in your specialized business sector.
Business Matching: this service will help your company leverage opportunities of joint ventures and other mutually beneficial partnerships in the local and international market
Dubai Trade: Through a single bilingual portal (DubaiTrade.ae), we offer you a 24/7 secure access to all our services. The portal consolidates all the services of complementary organizations including DP World and Dubai Customs and gives you the added convenience of a single login.

Your business operations in Dubai could not be better supported through our wide range of amenities on offer. 1. Onsite staff accommodation including supermarkets pharmacies, restaurants, recreational facilities, transport support etc. 2. Business Centers World (BCW) offers you ready-to-use, fully furnished office spaces 3. Round the clock fire and security services 4. Extensive business support services including food courts, banks, insurance services, engineering and business consultancy services 5. DCCI, Immigration and Etisalat facilities

Company Registration in JAFZA

Register your company here using the simple online form or print out the relevant documents and submit them in person at Jafza.

For Online registration

The online registration form is a simple 5 step process. 1. Enter the required company/personal details. 2. Select the type of license required. 3. Select the facility required. 4. Select the type of registration you require. 5. Submit the documents and make payment. Payments can also be made in person at Jafza.
For Offline registration

1. Print out relevant documents on one-sided pages and complete with black ink. 2. Bring completed forms along with supporting documentation and payment to Jebel Ali Free Zone, building Jafza 15.

Comparison with other Free Zones

JAFZA
Jafza Dubai business Hub offers trading, manufacturing and service companies a unique opportunity to do business from the Eedia East with zero tax and unbeatable business incentives. Situated at the crossroads between East and West, Jafza is an ideal warehousing, distribution and industrial hub providing access to a market of over two billion demanding and affluent consumers.
The Free Zone is built around the largest man-made port in the world, and over hundred square kilo meters. Pre-facilities for office space are available for lease, as are warehouses for storage distribution. and manufacturing. Plots of land are also available, and clients may construct purpose built facilities. Storage space in the cold and cool stores, open storage areas and ultra modern cargo handling equipment can be hired.
Jafza currently has over 5,000 componies.140 are fortune-500 hundred companies. Jafza has started to execute an expansion project to increase the number of facilities for potential customers. 40 square kilo meters in the south area is being development at a cost of more then 2 billion. Selected industrial companies producing and exporting superior goods will occupy this zone. The new expansion is vital to accommodate clients waiting facilities and to boost trade, container and cargo operation creating a world class and the most efficient business hub. Jafza Dubai Port Authority (DPA) and Dubai Customs have merged into inextricably linked corporation called the ports, customers and Free Zone Corporation. They are led by a chairmen and share strong, symbiotic relationship. The Free Zone is built around the DPA’s jebel Ali terminal. Enabling customers to take full advantages of the ports ISO – certified container and general cargo operation. Specialized unloading facilities and purpose-built storage such as the cool and cold stores are also at the disposal of Free Zone companies. Jebel Ali terminal offers efficient cargo handling, and with rates among the lowest in the world. The logistic and economics of export are very good. DPA is entering a new and exciting area of expansion at Jebel Ali Port, when complete, the expansion of port will offer, extra three major terminals and total of 82 berths equipped with state of the art large cranes to effectively handle business growth at Dubai Ports. This will enable DPA to handle over 21 million TEU’s (20 feet equivalent nits).

TECOM
TECOM Investments, based in Dubai, is a subsidiary of Dubai Holding, a global company dedicated to knowledge and life-improving industries. A creator of vibrant knowledge industry clusters, TECOM Investments is currently active in buoyant cutting-edge sectors like ICT, Media, Education, Life Sciences and Clean Technology.
A recognized leader in the global knowledge industry, TECOM Investments manages entities like Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, Dubai Knowledge Village, Dubai International Academic City, eHosting DataFort, International Media Production Zone, Dubai Outsource Zone, Dubai Studio City, DuBiotech and Enpark.
TECOM Investments’ phenomenal growth also encompasses local and international joint venture interests like Empower, a district cooling service provider established as a joint venture with Dubai Electricity and Water Authority, Emirates International Telecommunications Limited, a joint venture with Dubai Investment Group and SmartCity, a joint venture formed with SAMA Dubai to develop and manage knowledge industry townships worldwide.
Emirates International Telecommunications Limited holds stakes in Tunisie Telecom and GO, telecommunication carriers in Tunisia and Malta respectively. SmartCity has already laid the foundations of a global network of knowledge driven clusters through agreements to develop SmartCity Malta and SmartCity Kochi.
All the 3 parks under the Media Cluster belong to TECOM Business Parks, which includes eight other business parks focusing on sectors such as ICT, Education, Science and Manufacturing & Logistics. As a result, all DSC business partners have full access to the products and services provided by other TECOM Business Parks. If you are interested in exploring any of these products and services, or if you would like to establish collaboration opportunities with companies in other parks, the DSC team would be happy to arrange a meeting for you.

Growth of JAFZA

JAFZA has successfully been attracting “crème de la crème” in all business sectors from all over the world by sheer force of its unique value added offerings and propositions. More than 6000 of the world’s finest companies are currently based in JAFZA. The present JAFZA profile includes more than 150 of the Global Fortune 500 companies.
Out of these about 42 per cent are from the Middle East region, 23 per cent from Europe, 15 per cent from the Indian Sub continent, 7 per cent from Americas, 6 per cent from the Far East, 5 per cent from Africa and 2 per cent from other parts of the world.
JAFZA has seen a phenomenal 300 fold growth in its member strength growing from 19 companies in 1985 to over 6000 in 2007. Since the turn of this century the number of companies in JAFZA has grown by more than 350 per cent.
Contribution in World and UAE Economy

JAFZA has been one of the main drivers of Dubai and the UAE’s phenomenal economic growth over the years. Its consistent focus on building long term customer relationship and exceptional ability to forge alliances with global investors by offering them value driven solutions, over the last two decades, has enabled • Updating companies on the latest projects relate-the UAE to firmly position itself as one of the most favored investment destinations, on the world map.
The non-oil exports from JAFZA has reached AED 112 billion in 2007 posting an increase of more than 94% on its exports of AED 57.65 billion in 2006. This accounts for more than half of Dubai’s total non-oil exports of over AED 220 billion in 2007. JAFZA imports crossing AED 135 billion thresholds in 2007 accounts for over 31% of Dubai’s total non-oil imports of AED 444 billion. JAFZA companies together have sustained and generated over 160, 000 jobs in 2007.
Besides their direct contribution to JAFZA companies also provide substantial boost to Dubai’s economy by generating enormous business opportunities in other economic sectors such as transportation, hospitality, tourism, & as well as trading sectors.
JAFZA has also been instrumental in giving boost to human resource department; this supports the enhancement of human capital component of the country’s economy, which, in itself, is a huge long term gain in the UAE’s wealth creation abilities. Foreign entrepreneurs tend to invest in human capital by providing necessary technical and management trainings to their local staff. The demand for quality human resources eventually leads to increased investment in the country’s education and training sectors, enhancing ultimately the quality of the country’s human resources to world standards building right kind of environment for technology transfers in the long run.
Built around the Jebel Ali Port, world’s largest man-made harbor, JAFZA is the region’s pioneering business initiative. JAFZA started its operations in 1985 and has been an effective magnet for inward investment ever since. It is today one of the main drivers of Dubai and the UAE’s phenomenal economic growth and has contributed substantially in positioning Dubai and the UAE as one of the most favored investment destinations on the world map. JAFZA has also hugely contributed to the incredible growth of Dubai Port’s throughputs. DP World-UAE is the 7th largest container port in the world.
In its 22 years of operation, JAFZA has posted more than 300 times growth in its number of companies growing from 19 companies in 1985 to over 6000 in 2007 that includes over 150 of the Global Fortune 500 companies.
Value Added Services
JAFZA provides a number of value-added support services through which customers can enhance their businesses. These services include :
Advice on Future Expansion & Investment : JAFZA assists its customers in selecting the desirable site or location for their investment venture, as well as in determining operational requirements
Business Matching : Companies can avail the opportunities of exploring joint ventures and other mutual business opportunities by participating in frequent events organized by JAFZA in the local and international market
Business Delegations : JAFZA organizes events and extends invitations to its customers to join them on business trips to other countries, enabling them to gain market entries ed to their field of activity
Advising customers through JAFZA’s consulting offices on relevant issues related to setting up a business
At the heart of JAFZA’s customer-centric approach are its world-class technology tools – Dubai Trade Portal and JAFZA Link - that allow clients freedom to focus on their core businesses. DubaiTrade.ae Portal the innovative portal of Dubai World consolidates all the services of myDPA, eMirsal, e-ATA and myJAFZA sites within a single bilingual (Arabic-English) portal. DubaiTrade.ae is an indispensable tool for the trade and transportation industry, providing users with 24/7 secure access to all services with a single log on.

Conclusion

Jebal Ali Free Zone Authority (JAFZA) is is considered to be one of the most successful free zones. It is the a part of Economic Zone World which is its parent company. And it is considered to be the flagship of operations. One of the world’s largest and the fastest growing free zones. It was established in 1985, Jafza today is spread over an area of 48 sq. kms and is home to over 6400 companies, including over 120 of the Fortune Global 500 enterprises, from across the world. It is a leading driver of the burgeoning UAE economy. With its impeccable track record, Jafza stands for improvement, customer centricity, transparent operations and entrepreneurial dynamism.