The new ventures are said to include a protected cell company and one pure captive

Two more captives are set to be established in Dubai this year, doubling the number of captive operations in the UAE state.

The new ventures, yet to be formally licensed, are said to include a protected cell company and one pure captive.

A local source said the PCC project was designed to attract slightly smaller businesses and that both projects should be completed before the end of the year.

Both captives will operate out of the Dubai International Finance Centre (DIFC), where a spokeswoman said they were unable to confirm or deny that the new captives were in the pipeline.

The boost for the local captive market comes just months after the financial authorities changed the regulatory capital requirements and lowered the costs for establishing a captive in the centre, while at the same time raising the capital requirements of insurance operations.

The DIFC is in fierce competition within the region to develop a captive centre – Qatar, for example, has already said it would like to have 15 captives based in its domicile while Bahrain is also promoting its captive offering.

Dubai is home to two captives – the Abu Dhabi-based development firm Mubadala owns MDC (Re) Insurance Ltd, which is expected to help Mubadala subsidiary Masdar to manage risks in its renewable and green energy developments.

The second is Dubai Holding Insurance Services PCC Ltd, whose parent Dubai Holding ultimately is owned by the royal family.