Economy

The opening of a new AED446 million (US$121m) desalination plant in Sharjah’s Hamriyah area, now makes Sharjah the only member of the United Arab Emirates with a water supply in excess of its needs, according to Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA) . Officially inaugurated this week, the new desalination plant is part of the first phase of construction of ...

Moody’s Investors Services has published its first report on Sharjah, awarding the emirate with a A3 stable rating. The rating, which reflects the emirate’s credit strength, is primarily supported by its very strong fiscal and government debt position, noting that government debt is at low levels. A few months ago, global credit rating agency S&P announced its first ever sovereign ...

Strong growth in the UAE economy and rising rents in neighbouring Dubai have boosted demand for residential and commercial property in Sharjah, according to a report by international real estate consultancy Cluttons. The report stated that average residential rental costs climbed by 4.5 per cent during the first quarter, leaving them 19 per cent higher than this time last year, ...

Bee’ah, Sharjah’s award-winning fully integrated environment and waste management company, has awarded a GBP300 million (AED1.8 billion) contract to UK firm Chinook Sciences to build the world’s largest advanced thermal energy-from-waste facility. “There are many technologies and many companies which have used incineration for years,” said Bee’ah’s CEO Khaled Al Huraimel. “Sharjah wants to be a leader in the environmental ...

Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) announced this week that it has joined NASDAQ Dubai’s new Islamic financing platform, Murabaha, which offers an alternative for Islamic financing transactions using Sharia-compliant Certificates. SIB is the first bank to join the Murabaha platform, which was set-up by NASDAQ Dubai in partnership with Emirates Islamic Bank (EIB) and Emirates Islamic Financial Brokerage (EIFB). Originally founded ...

Sharjah could award up to AED 11 billion (US$3 billion) of construction projects by the end of 2014, according to a new report by Meed Projects. The report, which takes into account all known construction and transport projects in Sharjah with an estimated value of over AED18.3 million (US$5 million), predicted a bumper year for construction in the Emirate. According ...

Global credit rating agency Fitch has upgraded Sharjah Islamic Bank’s (SIB) Viability Rating. The new rating was announced as part of the first Fitch Ratings peer review of the UAE banking sector. The report affirmed the Long-term and Short-term Issuer Default Ratings (IDR) of nine UAE banks, plus the Viability Ratings (VR) of eight other banks. Sharjah Islamic Bank’s VR ...

The UAE’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by four percent during 2013, according to recent statements by the UAE Minister of Economy His Excellency Sultan Bin Saeed Al Mansouri , whilst growth across the nation’s non-oil sector remains strong. The GDP calculated by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), is one of many statistics released during the past year highlighting positive ...