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Dubai, UAE, 23 December 2015
Despite global economic uncertainties, in part a result of rising security concerns and the sustained low oil price, Links Group, a leading provider of commercial facilitation and advisory services in the UAE, has achieved a record year in new business.
"In our experience, business optimism in the UAE has remained high in 2015. The government's strategy to diversify the national economy by 2021 through the growth of non-oil sectors is helping to shore up the local economy and continues to present opportunities for foreign investors," said John Martin St. Valery, founding partner of Links Group.
In 2015, Links Group recorded a 55 per cent increase in new business, two thirds of which came from foreign investors establishing a commercial presence in the UAE for the first time. The other 20 per cent came from existing UAE-registered businesses wanting to restructure their companies using the corporate nominee partnership structure. By holding the 51 per cent local shareholding in trust, this model allows the foreign party to retain beneficial ownership of their business and full financial, operational and management control.
The majority of Links Group's international business enquiries came from the construction and engineering sectors, responding to the UAE's need for specialist experience in healthcare, education, hospitality, green building, transport and logistics. The UAE's ambitious infrastructure plans require tremendous investment and is another reason why the country is actively seeking foreign and private sector investment to support its pipeline of megaprojects, including Expo 2020 Dubai.
The high demand for restructuring services also saw Links Group establish a presence within the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) this year. Links Group's Corporate Nominee Special Purpose Company (SPC) vehicle is proving popular among law firms, financiers and private equity businesses that use the structure to facilitate acquisitions and other transactions for their clients. In 2015, the Links Group SPC vehicle facilitated tens of millions of US dollars worth of deal flow.
Within the context of the sustained low oil price, UAE governments have seen their state revenues decline. In an effort to attract more foreign investment, the government introduced in 2015 new policies to improve the country's legislative environment. These included the introduction of a new public-private partnership (PPP) law (Law No. 22 of 2015), a new Labour Law (Ministerial Decrees 764, 765 and 766) which will come into force in early 2016, and approval of the long awaited Insolvency Law.
"2015 has been very positive for Links Group - for the 13th consecutive year we have achieved double digit growth in terms of revenue and saw a 55 per cent increase in news clients over the previous year. In 2016, Links Group will continue to innovate our services and retain our market position by offering quality servicing to both foreign companies looking to retain ownership and management control, as well as local partners that do not want to take on undue risk".
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Press Contacts
Marianna Wisden
Mojo PR
Tel : +971 55 552 7758
marianna@mojo-me.com
About The Links Group
Established in 2002, Links Group partners, protects & enables foreign companies to enter and exit the UAE and Qatar markets while protecting their status as business owners. It advises corporations and individuals on how best to structure a legal commercial presence in the Middle East that protects their ownership interests and affords clear succession planning.
The Links Group is the first company of its kind to be endorsed by the Government of Dubai through a strategic alliance with the Foreign Investment Office (FDI) of the Dubai Economic Department and provides an unrivalled portfolio of corporate services including nominee local partnerships, corporate administration and government liaison support. The Links Group difference is that foreign companies work with a highly structured board as their local partner as opposed to an unknown individual. This structure provides foreign businesses with a corporate entity to act as their nominee, local partner, shareholder or sponsor, thereby minimising the risks associated with appointing an unknown individual nominee and satisfying corporate governance requirements.
The Links Group has an untarnished track record with 300 clients, who represent combined annual revenues of over USD 5bn to their respective economies.
The Links Group is also recognised as a Dubai SME 100 company, a ranking of the top performing SMEs in the emirate, and an Arabian 500 company.
© Press Release 2015
