33.5% jump in new business licences in Ras Al Khaimah

Summary

• New economic licences in Ras Al Khaimah rose 33.5% in Q3 2026 over Q2.
• Active licences reached 22,447 by end-September, with registered capital near AED 11.96 billion.
• The figures point to faster company formation in an emirate outside Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

The latest

New economic licences issued in Ras Al Khaimah rose 33.5% in the third quarter of 2026 compared with the second quarter, the Emirates News Agency reported, citing the emirate's Department of Economic Development. Cancellations fell over the same period, lifting net licensing activity. Registered capital tied to active licences climbed 12% year on year to about AED 11.96 billion.

Details

• The headline figure: The Department of Economic Development recorded a 33.5% increase in the number of new economic licences in the third quarter of 2026 against the second quarter of the same year, according to the Emirates News Agency. The comparison is quarter on quarter rather than against the same period a year earlier.
• Cancellations: Licences cancelled during the quarter fell 15.9% compared with the preceding period, according to the department. Fewer exits alongside more entries produced what the department described as an improvement in net licensing activity, the measure that captures both ends of the business cycle in a single period.
• The total stock: Active economic licences in Ras Al Khaimah stood at 22,447 at the end of September 2026. That represents annual growth of 4.1% against the corresponding period of the previous year, a slower pace than the quarterly surge in new issuance, since the stock figure absorbs cancellations accumulated across the year.
• Capital registered: Registered capital linked to active licences reached about AED 11.96 billion, up 12% year on year, according to the department. Capital grew roughly three times faster than the number of active licences over the same twelve months, meaning the average licence now carries more declared capital than a year earlier.
• Two different clocks: The release mixes measurement periods: the 33.5% licensing jump and the 15.9% drop in cancellations are quarter-on-quarter, while the 4.1% rise in active licences and the 12% capital increase are annual. Each figure answers a different question about the emirate's business base.
• What was not broken out: The department did not publish a sectoral breakdown of the new licences, nor identify the activities or nationalities behind the increase in registered capital. No absolute number of new licences issued during the quarter was given alongside the percentage, and no target for the coming quarter was announced.
• The source: The figures were published by the Emirates News Agency, the UAE's official news agency, citing the Ras Al Khaimah Department of Economic Development, the local government body responsible for issuing and cancelling commercial licences in the emirate. The data is official government licensing data, not corporate results.

Background

Ras Al Khaimah is one of the seven emirates of the UAE and operates its own economic department with authority over commercial licensing within its territory, separate from the licensing regimes of Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Between the lines

The gap between the two rates is the story. New licences jumped 33.5% in a single quarter while the total stock grew only 4.1% over a full year, which indicates the quarterly surge is recent rather than the continuation of a steady trend. Registered capital rising 12% against 4.1% licence growth suggests larger average ventures, though the department released no sectoral data to confirm where that capital went.

What's next

The next quarterly release from the Ras Al Khaimah Department of Economic Development will show whether the Q3 surge held into the fourth quarter of 2026, and whether cancellations continued to fall.

Source: Emirates News Agency (WAM), Ras Al Khaimah Department of Economic Development