List of Companies in the Ajman Free Zone
The Ajman Free Zone may not ring a bell to most Americans, but to thousands of overseas entrepreneurs it's synonymous with economic prosperity. Located at the mouth of the Persian Gulf in Ajman, the smallest of the seven United Arab Emirates, AFZ was established in 1988. Eight years later, it was granted autonomy by Ajman's head of state. At the time, about 400 foreign corporate entities had set up shop there. Since then, the free zone-where trade barriers are non-existent and there's zero income tax-has seen that number grow tenfold. Of those 4,000 businesses, about 80 percent engage in general trade, while the balance are manufacturing and service companies. Here's a sampling of AFZ's corporate residents.
Meridian VAT Reclaim
Double tax hits, which occur when income from overseas investments is taxed twice, are the bane of many multinational companies. Fortunately, the United States and other nations have "double tax treaties" that prevent such inequities. And Meridian VAT (value added tax) Reclaim, a subsidiary of London's Meridian Global Services, is a global leader in ensuring that its clients fully benefit from applicable treaties.
Abdolasons Trading
Based in Hong Kong, this 38-year-old, family-owned importer/exporter trades in products ranging from children's garments to aquarium supplies. Although employing fewer than 10 staffers, Abdolasons does about $1 million in annual sales.
Hanifa Motors
While the Mideast often conjures up images of oil sheiks tooling around in spanking-new stretch limos, it's also home to a flourishing used-car market. One such AFZ trader is Hanifa Motors. In addition to importing previously-owned vehicles from the United States, Japan and Germany and reselling them to the rest of the world, Hanifa offers financing services to its customers.
Ranco Impex
If you've ever done any domestic travel, chances are you've slept on this company's products-and used them to wipe a bit of stray room-service order off your face. Based in Coimbatore, India, Ranco Impex manufactures hotel linens for many of America's best-known hotel chains, including Holiday Inn, Hyatt and Sheraton.
United Bottling Company
The official Coca-Cola bottler in many nations, United Bottling Company-which prides itself on ensuring that "a quality ice-cold Coke is within arm's reach of all consumers at all times"-also exports many of the world's leading soft drink company's other brands, among them, Sprite, Fanta and Dasani.
