Dubai rolls out new incentives to support SMEs and public-private partnerships

Measures include allocating Dh1bn worth of projects to PPPs

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The Dubai Government has rolled out five initiatives aimed at supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises and public-private partnerships, including the allocation of Dh1 billion worth of projects for government-private partnerships, the emirate’s department of finance said.

The five initiatives “are aimed at reducing the cost of conducting business, supporting the registered companies in the emirate and attracting new investments", Abdulrahman Al Saleh, the department’s director general, said on Sunday.

Dubai, and the UAE as a whole, have been implementing a raft of measures to lower the cost of doing business, attract foreign investments, create jobs and boost economic growth. Among the reforms implemented last year, were the waiving of corporate fines in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, granting long-term visas to expatriates and allowing foreign ownership of companies outside free zones.

Dubai Government will pay the dues to SMEs that supply goods and services to it within 30 days instead of 90 days, an initiative that is expected to provide SMEs with Dh1.6 billion in additional funding per year. The government will introduce a special classification for SMEs entitled to receive their dues within 30 days.

The second initiative halves the value of primary insurance for SMEs to a range of 1 to 3 per cent to incentivise providing their goods and services to government agencies. Under this measure, minimum primary insurance was slashed by half to Dh20m, a figure that applies to 80 per cent of SMEs. The maximum primary insurance was reduced to Dh60m from Dh100m, which applies to the remaining SMEs.

“This initiative too, aims to provide greater liquidity for SMEs, while ensuring greater opportunities for them to participate in procurement to government agencies,” the Government said.

The third initiative includes also cutting in half the value of final insurance for SMEs' performance in government projects, known as performance insurance, to 5 per cent of all supplies. The Dubai Government also plans to prepare a classification of SMEs entitled to lower performance insurance.

The fourth initiative earmarks 5 per cent of government capital projects to SMEs, a measure that will allow them to get projects worth up to Dh400m, encourage them “to develop their business, enter into major projects contracts with government agencies and form alliances to compete for government projects”.

The fifth implementation includes allocating Dh1bn to public-private projects to attract private-sector investment, raise the government’s quality of service and reduce the burden on the budget.