Licensable activity
Holding & SPVs
Owning things rather than doing things. Shares in operating companies, intellectual property, real estate, vessels. A holding entity carries no trading activity, and in most jurisdictions may not invoice for services without changing what it is.
Classification
How it is coded.
UAE activity lists derive from ISIC Revision 4, the United Nations industrial classification. Each emirate's economic department and each free zone then extends that base with its own numbering, so the same activity carries a different code in Dubai than it does in Sharjah or inside DMCC.
- ISIC Rev. 4
- Section K — group 64.2, activities of holding companies
- Licence category
- Holding, SPV or offshore, depending on jurisdiction
- Regulator
- No sector regulator — the licensing authority is the only approval, unless a specific product or premises triggers one.
Approvals beyond the licence
- None ordinarily
- Holding structures are administratively straightforward. The complexity is in getting the structure right, not in permissions.
In practice
ADGM's SPV regime is the cleanest in the region — no premises, no visas, recognised by foreign counsel without explanation. RAK ICC is the offshore equivalent, JAFZA Offshore is the one that can hold Dubai freehold directly in designated developments, and DIFC has its own prescribed company framework.
Coverage
Where it can be licensed.
Of the 40 licensing authorities across the UAE, 8 issue licences covering this activity, spread across 4 of the seven emirates.