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Ras Al Khaimah - Peter J Fort, CEO, Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAK FTZ),will lead a delegation to Italy seeking to enhance trade between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Italy. The mission seeks to create new investment relationships between the two countries and share the free zone's benefits with Italian investors.
Mr Fort will be joined by MrAli Bin Essa Al Nuaimi, RAK FTZ Board Member, in a series of high-level meetings in Milan over a three-day period from 11January to 13 January 2015. Through meetings and presentations to companies, industry associations, local chambers of commerce andselect media interviews, the delegation will seek to build on the free zone's base of 116 Italian companies that have already made RAK FTZ their investment home.
"With one of the most open and dynamic economies in the world, the UAE offers an attractive proposition for Italian businesses and entrepreneurs to gain traction in the Middle East region, where exports from Italy have grown at a faster pace than they have to other regions in recent years," Mr Fort said. "Investors from Italyalso benefit from the UAE's political stability, sound economic policies, business-friendly regulatory environment and zero-tax regime, which make the UAE a leading global destination for foreign direct investment."
RAK FTZ has blossomed over 14 years into a cost-effective investment portal to dynamic regional and global markets. Today, it is the investment destination of choice for more than 8,000 companies from over 100 countries, representing more than 50 industries.
"RAK FTZ provides Italian entrepreneurs with a safe and secure environment to establish and grow their business operations of all sizes, ranging from SMEs to subsidiaries of leading global companies," Mr Fort said. "Less than an hour's drive from Dubai, RAK FTZ's strategic geographical location gives clients easy access to a wide range of countries across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia."
Mr Fort continued: "RAK FTZ provides a lower cost and therefore greater return on investment than other free zones in the region, while providing 100 per cent foreign ownership and zero taxation in world-class and fully customisable facilities.RAK FTZ makes it easy to establish and grow a business in the UAE. We offer investors fast-track licensing and registration, investor,employee and dependant visa issuance, freedom to source labour and materials from around the world, and ongoing business support services. RAK FTZ'sfacilities include offices, warehouses and land for lease across four specialised parksthat cater specifically to each individual investor's business needs."
A case in point is Italfood FZC, the largest Italian company at RAK FTZ.Italfood was first founded in 1955 as Casearia Romano in Lettere, in the southern part of the Gulf of Naples. The company has a rich history of supplying fresh mozzarella cheese in Italy for more than 50 years. Company owner Laura Clerici said the company expanded its operations to RAK FTZ in 2010 because, among other reasons, the free zone allowed its investors to have full ownership. Outside of a free zone in the UAE, aGCC country citizen must ownat least 51 percent of a business. Ms Clerici said RAK FTZ was also a business partner she felt she could trust. The free zone customised the facilities and services in its Technology Park to help the cheese production company grow.
In just a few years,Italfood FZC has increased its client base with products and services offered to the most important five-star hotels and restaurants in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and across the GCC. Additionally, the company created a special line of products for retailers, and now supplies to key supermarkets in the country.
Mr Fort said: "We are seeing growing interest from Italian companies at RAK FTZ looking to expand via our cost-effective gateway to global markets, and we look forward to helping them extend their reach across the world. By setting up marketing and sales offices, regional headquarters and logistics hubs at RAK FTZ, Italian companies can grow by exporting their products and services to the Middle East, Africa and South Asia with top-notch facilities, award-winning services and competitive costs that allow for higher profits."
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About Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone Authority
Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAK FTZ) is one of the fastest growing and most cost-effective free trade zones in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). With a reputation for affordability, flexibility and broad geographical reach, RAK FTZ is rapidly emerging as the preferred business hub in the region. Investors can easily access its business-friendly services, and branch into emerging markets.
Since the establishment of RAK FTZ in May 2000, the free zone has gone from strength to strength, garnering accolades and awards along the way. With only a handful of staff and a few offices in 2000, the free zone has grown by leaps and bounds and is now home to 8,000 active companies from over 100 countries around the world. It employs nearly 400 full-time staff, operates business and promotion centres in three locations in the UAE, and has an expanding international presence, with liaison offices in Germany, Turkey and India.
To learn more about RAK FTZ, please visit www.rakftz.com
Media Contact:
Cleo Eleazar
Public Relations and Events Manager
Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone Authority (RAK FTZ)
Phone: +971-7-2077173
E-mail: c.eleazar@rakftz.com
© Press Release 2015
