News

Renowned Iraqi singer Kadim Al Sahir is to headline the second edition of the Sharjah World Music Festival taking place from 16 to 25 January 2015. Organised by Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) in collaboration with Furat Qaddouri Music Center the festival will feature an elite line-up of vocalists and music performers from 13 countries. One of the most successful ...

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 ...

Ahmed Obaid Al Qaseer, COO of Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) was interviewed by World Finance recently about the emirate’s investment proposition (watch the video). Shurooq was recently named FDI Agency of the Year in the MENA region by The European Magazine’s Global Banking and Finance Awards and will host the 2015 World Forum for Foreign Direct Investment, from 8-10 February.

Sharjah expects 17 major international cruise liners to visit the emirate over the next two years, according to Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority (SCTDA). Thanks to its strategic Indian Ocean location, Sharjah’s Khorfakkan Port has been welcoming luxury cruise-liners since the early 1980s and is becoming increasingly popular on the itineraries of international operators. More than 71 calls from luxury ...

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 ...

Continuing its commitment to promoting Sharjah as a world-class destination for international investment, the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) concluded a Sharjah-US Business Roundtable, arranged in collaboration with the American Business Council of Dubai and the Northern Emirates at the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry on 16th of November.  The roundtable follows a number of trade promotion visits and ...

The Emirate of Sharjah has updated laws regulating Sharjah’s property market to allow foreign expatriates living in the United Arab Emirates to purchase property in zones authorised by the government. Previously, property could only be sold to UAE nationals, other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) nationals and Arab nationals with a valid UAE resident visa, but not to the many other ...