In a surge of overseas entrepreneurship, Dubai sees a 59% spike in Pakistani firms registering in 2023’s first half, with India leading the pack. Amid Pakistan’s challenging domestic backdrop and Dubai’s welcoming business climate, the city-state reinforces its position as a global business hub, resonating with the Dubai Economic Agenda and wider UAE objectives.
In the first half of 2023, 3,395 Pakistani firms were registered in Dubai, an increase of about 59% over the first half of 2022. There are reportedly 40,315 Pakistani businesses operating out of Dubai, as reported by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce.
In the first half of 2023, Indian nationals registered the most new businesses in Dubai, with Pakistani investors coming in third.
An estimated 229,000 Pakistanis have relocated to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) since April 2022, per figures compiled by the Bureau of Emigration and Overseas Employment. This is largely due to the country’s uncertain political and economic climate and the rising expense of living there.
During this time period, the number of Indian-owned businesses registering with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce increased by 39 percent, from 4,845 in the first half of 2022 to 6,717. Of the 30,146 companies that were recently established in Dubai, 2,3% were Indian.
With 4,445 local companies registered with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce in the first half of 2023, the UAE ranked second only to India.
Mohammad Ali Rashed Lootah, president and chief executive officer of the Chamber, commented on this development, saying that the “presence of businesses from a variety of nations reflects Dubai’s thriving commercial culture”.
He went on to say that the increase in new Chamber members during the first half of 2023 is in line with the Dubai Economic Agenda and other UAE objectives.
