Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAK FTZ) has registered a 4 per cent year-on-year increase in new company registrations during the first half, according to a report.

Revenues from the registrations touched Dh123.55 million, up 10.21 per cent compared to Dh112.1 million generated during the same period last year, revealed PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) in its audit report.

One of the fastest-growing and most cost-effective free trade zones in the UAE, RAK FTZ said 1,145 new companies had registered in the first half, a significant increase from the 1,101 companies registered last year.

This growth has far outstripped the budgeted revenue and registration targets for the free zone this year.

In addition, RAK FTZ’s growing reputation also received a major fillip as it was recently named as one of the Top 50 Free Zones in the fDi Global Free Zones of the Future 2012-2013 rankings, which recognised the free zone’s various attributes, including its cost-effectiveness and economic potential, on offer.

The top new companies at RAK FTZ that registered during the half came from India, the UK, Jordan and Pakistan, among others. A vast majority (62 per cent) of the newly registered companies represent the commercial sector, followed by consulting (28 per cent) and general trading (9 per cent), as shown in the PwC report.

Comentin on RAK FTZ's solid performance,  Maryam Al Murshedi Al Shehhi, the deputy director general of RAK FTZ, said: "Its philosophy centres on attracting and maximising the growth of value-added, know-how based, and technologically advanced businesses in RAK. This has seen us attracting some top companies to the region over the last 12 years."

"The tremendous and continuous growth in our new client portfolio reflects the investors’ confidence in our transparent and business-friendly environment," remarked Al Shehhi.

"RAK FTZ is a major contributor to the GDP growth of the emirate, and in turn the UAE. The reason we have seen amazing growth is that we not only offer unmatched benefits for our clients, but also extend a strategic hub-and-spoke destination for businesses, especially for those who wish to expand in the Mena," she noted.

"The fDi ranking allotted to us also sends out a clear message to the global business community that RAK FTZ is indeed ‘The Home of Business’ in the Middle East,” she added.

To reinforce its growth strategy, RAK FTZ powered up its key value-added services for customers through online and offline marketing initiatives.

This included a number of marketing outreach activities in the UAE and the GCC, as also reaching out to prospective investors in India, France, Turkey, Jordan, Nigeria, Russia, Pakistan, China, and other countries.

In addition, RAK FTZ participated in several trade visits and conferences in India and China, organised by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Trade.-TradeArabia News Service