Business

Sharjah is fast developing as centre for halal food, a global market worth US$2 trillion (AED 7.3t) worldwide. Global food producers converged on Sharjah earlier this month to meet with buyers from the Middle East and North African and the Indian sub-continent at the third annual OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) Halal Congress. A wide variety of halal food producers ...

Lord Peter Mandelson, former British Labour Party politician and the European Commissioner for Trade from 2004 and 2008, will deliver a keynote address on the final day of the 2015 World Forum for Foreign Direct Investment, on immigration policy , FDI and the global fight for talent. The forum, organised by Conway Events, will be held from 8 – 10 February in ...

Sharjah Economic Development Department has launched a new one-stop-shop for investors setting up businesses in the emirate. The new government Investor Services Centre, aims to significantly reduce the amount of time taken to establish a business in Sharjah, while increasing the level of service offered to commercial investors. The new service centre is one of a number of initiatives undertaken by Sharjah ...

Global business aviation services company Gama Aviation this week confirmed plans to further expand its private aviation hub in Sharjah. The company began handling all business aviation services at Sharjah International Airport in early 2012 via a partnership with Sharjah Airport Authority and recently opened its own private aviation terminal, providing a full service private aviation hub for its customers ...

Sharjah residential property rents increased 23 per cent during the first nine months of 2014, according to Cluttons. The real estate consultancy credited ongoing reverse migration from neighbouring Dubai and the rapid expansion of Air Arabia as key factors driving the increase, combined with a limited supply of residential property. Apartment rental prices in the emirate surged 35 per cent ...

According to a new report by international real estate consultancy Cluttons, while Sharjah’s office rental market saw no growth during the July, August, September period, rents are expected to rise during the last quarter of the year due to growing demand for A grade office space. Some prime commercial locations saw a lowering of rental costs during the third quarter. ...

Sharjah-headquartered terminal operator Gulftainer has invested US$60 million (AED 220m) in four state-of-the-art ship to shore (STS) and 12 rubber tyred gantry (RTG) cranes at the Khorfakkan Container Terminal (KCT), significantly strengthening the terminal’s operational capability and overall productivity. According to Gulftainer, the new, advanced STS cranes are larger, with a greater outreach to better service massive 18,000 twenty-foot container ...

Tilal Properties, a new joint venture between Sharjah Asset Management and Eskan Real Estate Development, has announced Tilal City, a 25 million square feet mixed-use community strategically located near the Emirates Road (E611), just 10 kilometres from Sharjah’s International Airport. The AED 2 billion (US$ 540 million) real estate development will include some 2,000 residential plots, offices, retail stores, open ...

His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the UAE’s Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, this week issued instructions to Bee’ah, Sharjah’s waste management and environment company, to build, what is expected to be, the largest waste-to-energy plant in the world. Bee’ah awarded British firm Chinook Sciences with a GBP 300 million (AED 1.8 billion) contract for ...

Air Arabia (AIRARABI:DFM), the largest low-cost carrier operator in the Middle East and North Africa, has announced a record net profit of AED 498 million (US$ 136m) for the first nine months of 2014, increasing 46 percent compared with the same period last year. The company attributes this year’s success to the effectiveness of its business model and its hub ...