Background
Ras al-Khaimah is one of the emirates of the United Arab Emirates and covers an area of 656 square miles; is in the southern part of the Persian Gulf. The emirate is ruled by Sheikh Saqr bin Mohammad al-Qassimi and has a population of about 300,000.
The capital city, Ras al-Khaimah, has a population of 263,217 as of 2008 and it is served by the Ras Al Khaimah International Airport in Al Jazirah Al Hamra. Its two main sections are Old Ras Al Khaimah and Nakheel, on either side of the creek which flows through the city.
As the emirate is not a major oil producer, it has instead focused on developing its industrial sector. The UAE's first cement company was opened there in the early 1970s and is now the UAE's largest producer of cement. In the 1980s, the emirate formed RAK Ceramics - now the world's largest ceramics producer - and Julphar, the Persian Gulf region's first pharmaceuticals company. Other commercial and industrial activities have also helped create a vibrant and growing economy.
Economy
Ras Al Khaimah has earned its reputation as a pre-eminent commercial centre with an innovative, dynamic and entrepreneurial business culture. Strategically located at the crossroads of trade and commerce between East and West, it is ideally positioned to service and access markets that span the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Subcontinent and the CIS countries. Moreover, it occupies a time zone that allows it to connect markets like the Far East and the US. To leverage this advantage, it is developing a world-class infrastructure, air and port facilities, making it the most well-connected hub in the region.
Politically stable, Ras Al Khaimah has a forward-looking, responsive government with a progressive, pro-business attitude and a strong commitment to the private sector. Business-friendly regulations and a favourable tax and customs framework have played a key role in attracting business investment from all over the world in almost every sphere of economic activity. Strong economic indicators and a relatively low cost work environment have contributed to its rapid development and prosperity. A modern, safe, multi-cultural place with state-of-the-art medical, education, entertainment, shopping and sports facilities that ensure a high quality of life, Ras Al Khaimah is the location of choice for the modern professional and an ideal location for multinationals to establish a regional presence.
The economy is based on leveraging on natural topography, consisting of 65 km of coastal silver sandy beaches, majestic mountains on the eastern side for hill resorts, un-spoilt desert plain in the central region for commercial & industrial projects and green belt in the southern side for agriculture developments. Ras Al Khaimah is indeed blessed with an abundance of natural beauty on the one hand and a unique location on the other which has allowed it to focus economic development on two pillars, namely, tourism and industry.
Increasingly the Emirate has been reforming laws and regulations to make it more hospitable to investment and more enabling for business. There is an ongoing augmentation of aviation services, sea ports, road networks, energy, telecommunications and digital communications required by the new economy, water for community and industry use, health care, education, housing and other social services.
Investment climate and opportunities
Ras al-Khaimah, which is the fourth-largest emirate, is rising to an increasingly elevated position in the eyes of many international investors. The government’s ambitious economic diversification programme is targeting industry, tourism and real estate as growth sectors. A raft of business-friendly policies have helped secure a rapid increase in foreign inflows; the emirate has enjoyed a cumulative average growth rate of over 50 per cent since 2003.
A number of sectors stand out. In finance, strong economic growth and high investment inflows over the past few years have boosted the balance sheets of Ras al-Khaimah financial institutions and lent strength to the growing financial services sector. Continued momentum behind the overall economy should ensure this trend continues and with high GDP per capita and solid population growth, the potential for expansion of the sector is strong.
In transport, a raft of integrated infrastructure improvements across nearly all transportation segments are underway in order to accommodate the growing influx of tourists, expatriates and businesses. Ras al-Khaimah International Airport will receive $150m from the government over the next 20 years to improve cargo and passenger facilities. In 2007 there was a 28 per cent increase in the number of visiting tourists; airport upgrades and expansions will eventually increase capacity to 1.5m passengers per year. Highways are also seeing significant improvement, with $272m to be spent in the next decade in order to accommodate a sharp rise in vehicles and decrease driving times between the emirates. The UAE national railway network is in the final planning phase and the entire project should be completed by 2015. Trains will be an ideal way to transport raw materials around the emirate and the container transport potential of the railway is expected to attract many cargo companies.
Tourism is growing and with a steady rise in visitor numbers, the emirate is now looking to expand capacity. Tourism officials are aiming to attract 2.5m visitors each year once new developments come on-line. With hotel space limited, 20 hotels are set to be completed over the next five to 10 years. Business tourism is also an area of targeted development and the city is in the process of boosting its meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) segment through several projects, the largest being the construction of the RAK Convention and Exhibition Centre.
