Economy

Sharjah’s Department of Seaports & Customs and Canaveral Port Authority of Florida in the USA have signed a ‘Sister Ports’ agreement, which will underpin a variety of cooperation and collaboration initiatives including trade and investment development activities between the two authorities. The agreement was signed at a meeting hosted by Sharjah-headquartered international port operator Gulftainer in the Sharjah Chamber of ...

The latest report from Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD) shows strong growth in Sharjah’s business sectors with a 13.6 percent increase in new trade licences issued by the department during the first half of this year. SEDD issued 3,183 new licences during the first half of 2015, compared to 2,802 in the same period last year. Overall 33,192 licenses issued ...

The UAE Ministry of Finance has announced that local Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs) can now register in the Federal Register of Suppliers free-of-charge in an effort to support Emirati startups. According to the terms, the SMEs must be owned by UAE citizens and must register with the Federal Register during the first two years of their establishment. The Ministry’s ...

A multi-billion dollar development called ‘Sharjah Waterfront City’ on Sharjah’s northeast coast is expected to be announced at the region’s premier real estate event, Cityscape Global, next month. According to a report by Sharjah-based Al Khaleej newspaper, the emirate’s largest master-planned mixed-use development project to-date will cover an area of 60 million square feet along 36 kilometers of waterfront. The ...

The International Monetory Fund (IMF) has estimated the United Arab Emirates’ average economic growth at 3.6 percent for 2014, and forecasts 3.2 percent in 2015. Despite lower oil prices, sluggish global growth, and volatility regional markets, the UAE remains one of the fastest growing economies in the world with strong non-oil economy growth of 4.8 percent (2014). According to the ...

The UAE’s Council of Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises and Projects is in the final stages of formation and will soon begin implementing programmes to grow and develop the small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) sector. SMEs have been identified as critical for the economic and social development of emerging markets, playing a major role in creating jobs, developing economic growth, and ...

Sharjah Investment and Development (Shurooq) has been named the Top Investment Promotion Agency in the Middle East in Site Selection Magazine’s 2015 Best to Invest Awards, in recognition of the authority’s global initiatives to attract foreign direct investment to the Emirate of Sharjah. The award comes at a time of regional and global recognition for both Sharjah’s economy and Shurooq’s ...

Sheikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, chairperson of Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), is expected to champion youth empowerment at the upcoming World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) in Jordan this week. Sheikha Bodour will take part in the panel session “The youth imperative: what shifts are necessary to equip the region’s youth for ...

Global credit rating agency Standard & Poor’s has affirmed the Emirate of Sharjah’s A/A-1 sovereign credit ratings long- and short-term, foreign and local currency, on the basis of Sharjah’s strong nominal GDP (gross domestic product) growth. The agency expects that Sharjah’s nominal GDP growth will remain strong, against the government’s relatively high interest burden. S&P also stated that Sharjah had ...

Phase one of Sharjah’s new post code system has been officially launched by Sharjah Urban Planning Council (SUPC) in the first step to provide emirate-wide local post codes, opening up new opportunities for ecommerce, retail and logistics providers. The new local post code system, developed by the Emirates Post Group, provides a key component for the door-to-door delivery of a ...