News

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 ...

Tilal Properties, a new joint venture between Sharjah Asset Management and Eskan Real Estate Development, has announced Tilal City, a 25 million square feet mixed-use community strategically located near the Emirates Road (E611), just 10 kilometres from Sharjah’s International Airport. The AED 2 billion (US$ 540 million) real estate development will include some 2,000 residential plots, offices, retail stores, open ...

His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan Bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Member of the UAE’s Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, this week issued instructions to Bee’ah, Sharjah’s waste management and environment company, to build, what is expected to be, the largest waste-to-energy plant in the world. Bee’ah awarded British firm Chinook Sciences with a GBP 300 million (AED 1.8 billion) contract for ...

The Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), in collaboration with the Japan Business Council (JBC) and the Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), hosted a Sharjah-Japan Business Roundtable in Sharjah this week. Japan is a key trading partner of the United Arab Emirates accounting for US$25.92 billion (AED 95b) in bilateral trade during the first half of 2014. Source: Shurooq

Air Arabia (AIRARABI:DFM), the largest low-cost carrier operator in the Middle East and North Africa, has announced a record net profit of AED 498 million (US$ 136m) for the first nine months of 2014, increasing 46 percent compared with the same period last year. The company attributes this year’s success to the effectiveness of its business model and its hub ...