Table of Contents
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What does this activity cover?
It covers bulk trade in gold, silver and platinum group metals in unworked forms such as bars, grain and dore.
2. Do I need third-party approval?
Yes. The Security Industry Regulatory Agency must approve this activity before Meydan Free Zone can issue the license.
3. Does anti-money laundering regulation apply?
Yes. This activity is classed as a Designated Non-Financial Business or Profession, so AML duties apply throughout.
4. Can I refine or assay the metal?
No. Refining and assaying are separate activities under their own codes.
5. Can I make or sell jewellery?
No. Jewellery trading and manufacture sit under separate codes.
Topic Summary
Dubai Sits at the Heart of Global Gold Trade
The UAE exported USD 53.41 billion in gold across 2024 and 2025, placing it among the world's largest gold exporting nations. Its geographic position on routes between Asia, Africa, and Europe is a key driver of that volume.
Know Exactly What This Activity Covers
This wholesale license covers bulk trade in gold bars, grain, dore, silver, platinum, and palladium in unworked form. It also includes import, secure storage, and re-export of precious metals traded against recognised purity and assay standards.
Understand What Falls Outside the License
Refining, assaying, or working the metal is classified as manufacturing and requires a separate code. Selling finished jewellery or trading directly with the public also falls outside this activity entirely.
SIRA Pre-Approval Is a Hard Requirement
Before Meydan Free Zone can issue a business license for this activity, pre-approval from the Security Industry Regulatory Agency (SIRA) must be obtained. This step cannot be skipped or completed after the fact.
AML Compliance Is Ongoing, Not a One-Time Step
This activity is classified as a Designated Non-Financial Business or Profession (DNFBP), meaning full anti-money laundering obligations apply. The business must maintain AML registration and meet all reporting duties for the entire life of the license.
Gold Bars and Coins Lead UAE Export Value
Gold bars account for USD 5.8 billion of UAE exports, with coins close behind at USD 4.7 billion. Jewellery and gold dust follow, giving traders a clear picture of where demand is concentrated.
Traceability Matters as Much as Price
Whether supplying refiners or jewellery makers, the origin and purity records of unworked metal are central to operating in this market. Buyers including banks, refiners, and bullion traders expect documented assay and chain-of-custody standards.
How to Open a Wholesale of Gold and Other Precious Metals in Dubai with Meydan Free Zone
This activity covers bulk trade in gold, silver and platinum group metals. Traders deal in bars, grain, dore and other unworked forms of the metal. Buyers are refiners, jewellery makers, banks and other bullion traders. It is by some distance the most tightly controlled part of the metals trade.
Dubai sits close to the centre of the entire world gold market. The UAE exported USD 53.41 billion of gold across 2024 and 2025.1 That puts the country among the largest gold exporting nations anywhere. Its position on the routes between Asia, Africa and Europe is a large part of the reason.
The shape of those exports says a lot. Gold bars lead the way at USD 5.8 billion, followed by coins at USD 4.7 billion.1 Jewellery and gold dust follow along behind those two lines.1 Exports stood at about USD 52 billion in 2023, so the trade is holding steady rather than spiking.2
Why Dubai is called the City of Gold
Whether you trade bullion, supply refiners or broker precious metal, this activity covers that trade. The figures below show the scale Dubai handles.
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Sources: Gulf News (2025), TrendEconomy (2025)
Who is this activity for?
What this activity covers
This code covers wholesale trade in gold and other precious metals. It carries approval and compliance duties that the rest of the class does not.
- Bulk trade in gold bars, grain and dore
- Bulk trade in silver, platinum and palladium
- Supply of unworked precious metal to refiners and jewellery makers
- Import, secure storage and re-export of precious metal
- Trade against recognised purity and assay standards
Product scope
What falls outside this activity
This activity does not cover metal scrap, which the class guidelines place under class 4669. Refining, assaying or working the metal is manufacturing and sits under its own code. Making or selling finished jewellery is a separate activity again. Selling direct to the public is retail trade and needs a retail activity.
In short, you can trade unworked precious metal in bulk, but you cannot refine it, make jewellery, or sell to the public.
Compliance
THIRD-PARTY APPROVAL
This activity requires pre-approval from the Security Industry Regulatory Agency (SIRA) before a business license can be issued by Meydan Free Zone.
ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING COMPLIANCE
This activity is classed as a Designated Non-Financial Business or Profession (DNFBP). Anti-money laundering rules apply to this business. The business must meet all AML registration and reporting duties for as long as the license is held.
Citations
1. Gulf News, Who Buys UAE Gold? Where Dh196 Billion of Exports Went, 2025.
2. TrendEconomy, UAE Gold Exports, UN Comtrade Trade Statistics, 2025.
