Economy

Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD) has issued 33,149 business licenses during the first half of 2017, consistent with the number of licenses issued during the equivalent periods over the past three years. The department issued 33,192 licenses in H1 2015 and 31,889 licenses during the same period of 2014*. The SEDD statistics exclude those business licenses issued by the emirate’s ...

Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al Qasimi, chairperson of Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), will now chair the World Economic Forum‘s Regional Business Council (RBC) for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The announcement was made by Professor Klaus Schwab, founder and executive chairman of WEF at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa, held ...

Investment, finance and government leaders will meet in Sharjah next month to discuss the role of investment in developing an innovative economy. Held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, and hosted by ‘Invest in Sharjah’, the Government of Sharjah’s FDI office, the UAE’s first Euromoney ...

Euromoney Conferences announced the launch of The Euromoney Emirates Conference 2017, the first Euromoney event to be held in the UAE. The conference will run on May 8 and 9 in Sharjah. Since the late 1970s, the company has organised a series of successful and high profile financial events in more than 60 countries and across the region, including the ...

Global credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has lowered its long- and short-term foreign and local currency sovereign credit ratings on the Emirate of Sharjah from ‘A/A-1’ to ‘BBB+/A-2’ with a stable outlook. The agency attributed the change largely to an increase in government debt and slower than expected fiscal consolidation. S&P also forecasts faster economic growth in 2017, increasing ...

H.H. Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah has approved the master plan for Sharjah Healthcare City, according to the Emirates News Agency (WAM). First announced in 2010, the development is planned to be one of the largest healthcare centres in the Middle East covering an area of 2.43 million square metres (26 ...

This week’s Sharjah Forum brought together 150 decision makers from key government departments to discuss the emirate’s economy, economic development and strategies to attract continued foreign direct investment (FDI). Organised for the second time by Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), the forum was hosted under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Sharjah ...

The latest annual credit analysis from Moody’s Investors Service, which rates Sharjah’s government at an A3 long-term credit rating with a stable outlook, reports that the emirate’s debt burden and debt affordability remain low and compare well with its peers, despite the economic pressures on fiscal metrics. Moody’s also expects the emirate’s nominal GDP growth to remain firmly in positive ...

By H.E.  Sheikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi As part of Shurooq’s ongoing efforts, I undertake many overseas travels to present the emirate of Sharjah as a lucrative investment and business destination. As I network with commercial leaders and global investors from around the world, I often see myself pausing to put myself in their position, asking myself the most important ...

Sharjah’s unique position as a gateway for international business expansion was the topic under discussion at a key panel event held in the presence of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, which took place at the opening of the Sharjah Foreign Direct Investment Forum (Sharjah FDI Forum 2016), ...