RAK ICC Strengthens Ras Al Khaimah’s Status As Global Business Hub

His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Chairman of RAK International Corporate Centre (RAK ICC), has re-affirmed the RAK ICC’s commitment to achieve global recognition as a premium jurisdiction for company formation services and comply with global regulatory requirements and relevant international standards.

H.H. Ahmed’s statements came as RAK ICC recently announced the appointment of new global experts to join its board of directors to underscore RAK ICC’s serious intentions to win the global flight to quality.

RAK ICC has recently unveiled three new board members, tasked with spearheading the organisation’s transformation to an international world class and fully compliant registry. The appointments bring with them a wealth of international experience from many corners of the globe.

“There is a clear shift away from traditional offshore centers to newer highly compliant jurisdictions such as RAK ICC. Clients are conscious of reputational risk and will only want to be associated with jurisdictions that are leading the drive to higher standards of regulations and compliance,” said Michael Fay QC, one of the three newly appointed board members.

Fellow board member, Ernest Zheng, said:  “China and Hong Kong have traditionally been huge drivers of offshore registrations especially for jurisdictions such as Cayman and the BVI but RAK ICC is perfectly positioned to win a large part of the business going forward. The UAE’s geographic location and favorable time difference, great infrastructure and ease of travel and doing business as well as wide network of Double Taxation Treaties (DTT) and investment bilateral treaties make it an ideal partner for Chinese and Hong Kong companies” stated Ernest Zheng, former China CEO of Vistra, the world’s largest corporate services provider.

The third member of the RAK ICC board, David de Buck, former CEO of Intertrust noted:

“I am delighted to be on the board of RAK ICC. We are on an exciting journey which will see RAK ICC grow substantially in the next few years. The new global Economic Substance Requirements (ESR) provide the UAE and RAK ICC with a great opportunity to attract companies from all over the world including many thousands of re-domiciliations from other jurisdictions that would struggle to meet ESR. The UAE has the infrastructure and more importantly the deep pool of professionals and advisors to satisfy the most demanding requirements.”

This internationally assembled and vastly experienced board is in line with RAK ICC’s global expansion plans. The registry currently serves over 30,000 companies with shareholders from 160+ countries. RAK ICC’s Chairman His Highness Sheikh Ahmed bin Saqr Al Qasimi said: “We are delighted to welcome the three new members to our board. They bring a wealth of complimentary global relevant experience as well as the network needed for our future expansion plans.”

The latest appointments come at a time when RAK ICC is pushing forward with its commitment to comply with global regulatory requirements and relevant international compliance standards. It recently revised its AML and CFT policies, along with the Beneficial Ownership filing regime and is taking the necessary steps to implement the recently introduced Economic Substance Requirements.

RAK ICC has been steadfast in its commitment to achieving global recognition as a premium jurisdiction for company formation services. To this end, the registry has recently established its first office in Shanghai, China, and added to its team targeting markets in the Far East, MENA, India, Africa, Russia, and CIS countries.

The registry has also recently honed its company domicile transfer service, offering international clients a seamless transfer process that allows companies to re-domicile to RAKICC and maintain their existing legal status, preserve all operational and banking history and get access to common law courts.

It is this level of service – along with its vastly experienced team – that RAK ICC CEO Dr Sameer Al Ansari believes sets RAK ICC apart from other registries in the region and positions it as a leading global registry and future winner in the flight to quality.