News

The United Arab Emirates registered strong growth in private sector production, purchasing and employment during January, according to HSBC‘s monthly Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), compiled by Markit, a global financial information and services company. Experts predict a slowing in some economic activity during this year as a result of lower oil prices, however January’s index showed a three-month high. The ...

Global trade and investment experts and policy makers are expected to converge on Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates next week for the 2015 World Forum for Foreign Direct Investment, which will be held from 9 – 10 February. Hosted by Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), Sharjah 2015 marks the twelfth global edition of the conference and the first ...

The University of Sharjah (UOS) plans to build a new AED 200 million (US$54m) residential tower in Al Mamzar in the centre of Sharjah city. The university currently manages more than 60 buildings on its main campus in Sharjah’s University City near the international airport, in the city and on Sharjah’s east coast. The new residential tower adds to a ...

The government of Sharjah has set its 2015 annual budget at AED 17.7 billion (US$ 4.8 b), the highest annual budget that the emirate has ever allocated, 12 percent above Sharjah’s AED 15.4 billion (US$ 4.2 b) 2014 budget. The budget was endorsed by The Sharjah Consultative Council (SCC) on Saturday and approved by His Highness Dr. Shaikh Sultan Bin ...

Air Arabia (AIRARABI:DFM) will become the first low-cost airline from the Middle East and Africa to connect the region with China next month. Starting on February 10, 2015, the Sharjah-headquartered carrier will fly regular non-stop services to Urumqi, the largest city in Western China. Located in the Xinjiang district of China, Urumqi is a modern industrial city of 3.3 million ...

Sharjah’s award-winning integrated environmental and waste management company, Bee’ah, announced its new, state-of-the-art, eco-friendly headquarters during the first day of the World Future Energy Summit 2015 (WFES) in Abu Dhabi this week. The new Bee’ah headquarters building, which takes its inspiration from desert sand dunes, has been designed by Prtizker prize-winning architect Zaha Hadid and reflects the organisation’s passion for ...

Popular Sharjah-based hop-on, hop-off city tour operator City Sightseeing Sharjah and its new City Sightseeing counterpart in neighbouring Dubai are connecting to allow tourists holding a 48-hour validity ticket to visit tourism attractions in both cities. Ranked #1 out of 28 activities to do in Sharjah by globally respected travel site Tripadvisor, City Sightseeing Sharjah was launched by the Sharjah ...

Rafi Agri Foods International FZC, a leading agri-commodity trading firm based in the Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF Zone) has announced its acquisition of a 20 percent stake in Delta Food Industries (FZC), one of the UAE’s fastest growing food exporters. A company statement estimated Delta Foods’ exports at over 250 TEUs (twenty-foot-equivalent units) per month, nearly 70 percent ...

Sharjah International Airport passenger traffic increased 12 percent in 2014 to 9.5 million passengers, compared with 8.5 million during 2013. The airport has enjoyed accelerated growth over the past three years, achieving 13 percent passenger growth in both 2012 and 2013, in line with its goal of handling 25 million passengers by the year 2025. A total of 70,559 flights ...

The 2015 World Forum for Foreign Direct Investment will focus on the impact of geopolitics on foreign direct investment (FDI). The forum, hosted by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) and organised by Conway Events, will be held from 9 – 10 February in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates: the first time that the event has taken place in the ...