Dubai has one private firm for every 12 residents

Dubai: Dubai has one private company for every 12 residents, according to government figures.

The number of registered companies in Dubai hit the 100,000 mark in 2006 and a further 10,000 fledgling enterprises are expected this year, a government official said. The population of Dubai is 1.2 million.

Khalid Al Qasim, deputy director-general for planning and development in the Department of Economic Development (DED), told Gulf News the number of companies eager to trade in Dubai was predicted to jump 10 per cent annually. The number of companies registered last year with the department was 76,000. But Al Qasim stressed the department was more interested in the quality and not quantity of new businesses setting up here.

"We would rather the companies perform well, increase their trade and maximise their value," he said ahead of the launch of the second wave of the Dubai Economic Research Awards (DERA).