Economy

Two of Sharjah’s leading banks, Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) and United Arab Bank (UAB), have announced increased profits for the first half of 2014 this week underscoring the strength of the emirate’s banking sector. Sharjah-headquartered UAB announced a 26% increase in net profit in the first half of 2014 compared to the same period last year, reaching AED 328 million ...

Sharjah’s Roads and Transport Authority (RTA Sharjah) has announced a number of new projects to improve road traffic flow, ease congestion and increase road safety. The Authority appointed consulting services company W.S. Atkins earlier this year to conduct a comprehensive 6 month study on Sharjah’s road traffic to include traffic congestion, pollution and road safety RTA Sharjah has announced the first ...

The emirate of Sharjah is planning to issue its first sovereign sukuk, the Islamic equivalent of a sovereign bond, and has approached three banks to manage the issue, according to global news agencies. The value of Sharjah’s sovereign sukuk is yet unknown, but banking sources say that they expect the launch of the new bond to take place as early ...

Sharjah Airport International Freezone (SAIF Zone) has registered 800 new companies during the first six months of 2014 and expects similar growth during the second half of the year, according to an interview given to the Gulf News by the Director of SAIF Zone Saud Salim Al Mazrouei. SAIF Zone now has 6,700 companies located in the 13 million square ...

Port Canaveral this week signed a 35-year agreement with GT USA, the US business of Sharjah-headquartered port operator Gulftainer, to manage the port’s new container and multipurpose sea cargo terminal. Port Canaveral is a cruise, cargo and naval port in Brevard County, Florida, United States, south of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and the Kennedy Space Center. The Port Canaveral ...

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 ...