Dubai introduces Islamic categorisation for company registration

Dubai: The Department of Economic Development in Dubai (DED) is developing the Islamic-compliant standard to classify or categorise the registered businesses in Dubai, Mohammad Al Shael, CEO of Business Registration & Licensing Sector at DED, told Gulf News.

“The department is developing an official standard for Islamic-compliant companies as part of the required infrastructure to make Dubai the world’s Islamic-compliant economic capital.”

Earlier this month, His Highness Shaikh Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, launched a new initiative that would make Dubai a global capital for the Islamic economy.

While Dubai has almost of 300,000 registered companies, Al Shael added that it will be left to the business owners to re-categorise their companies as either traditional of Islamic companies. “However, all new companies will be subject to one of these choices at the time of registration.”

Al Shael said: “Currently, we benchmark with countries such as South Africa, Malaysia and Brazil who have NGOs based on Sharia-compliant economy to develop an official standard for Islamic business activities in Dubai.”

He also remarked that the department will designate a special team to monitor if these Islamic business are abiding by the rules and regulations.

“This legal framework will enhance trust in Dubai Islamic products,” he added