News

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 economic growth and the government’s solid fiscal management. The rating agency also confirmed that it expected Sharjah’s economic growth to continue. S&P gave its first ever sovereign credit rating for ...

Hands Industries, a second hand clothes dealer and recycler based in the Sharjah Airport Free Zone (SAIF Zone), sells an average of 500 tonnes of recycled clothes per month, according to UAE’s The National newspaper. Sharjah has become a hub for recycling and waste management with the emirate’s own waste management company, Bee’ah, driving a zero-waste initiative to divert 100% ...

Sharjah, the 2015 Arab Capital of Tourism, is participating in this week’s World Travel Market in London, United Kingdom to showcase the emirate’s tourism portfolio. Sharjah’s pavilion aims to provide a glimpse of life in the Emirate and highlight the unique opportunities that it offers international markets looking for a new destination for business or pleasure. The premier tourism and travel ...

Heads of government departments and authorities are to meet in Sharjah on Sunday to discuss how the emirate can best meet the needs of business investors. Organised by Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, the Sharjah Forum will focus ...

Sharjah-based plastics converter Alliance Plastics FZE is scaling up to meet the region’s growing demand for industrial plastic packaging products. The manufacturer plans to invest AED 15-20 million (US$ 4-5.5m) in a new state of the art factory unit on a 62,840 square foot (5838 sq. meter) plot in Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF Zone) . The Gulf Petrochemicals ...

Sharjah banks InvestBank (INVESTB), Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) and United Arab Bank (UAB) all announced strong profits for the first nine months of 2014. Investbank reported a six percent increase in net operating profit to AED 373 million (US$101m ), SIB reported a 33.5 percent increase in net profits to AED 295 million (US$ 80m), whilst UAB reported a 20 percent ...

Sharjah International Airport‘s new AED 500 million (US$ 136m) airport runway was opened this week, significantly expanding the airport’s capacity, in line with its goal of handling 25 million passengers by the year 2025. The new runway adds capacity for large and new-generation ICAO Code F aircraft such as the Airbus A380 and Boeings B747-8 Intercontinental and B747-8 freighter, plus ...

Sharjah International Airport passenger traffic registered a 16 percent increase in the third quarter of this year compared with the third quarter of 2013. Sharjah handled 2.4 million passengers during the same period, compared with 2 million passengers in Q3 2013, while, overall, 7.3 million passengers passed through the airport since the beginning of the year. 17,830 flights landed or took ...

Sharjah’s environment sector is expected to grow by 15 percent to almost AED 1 billion (US$ 0.27b) by 2016, according to a new study by the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority ( Shurooq). The authority is currently seeking foreign direct investment (FDI) in solar energy generation plants and water desalination projects as part of an effort to grow new ventures in the ...

Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) has announced that retail spaces in Sharjah’s newly renovated Souq Al Shinasiyah area are now available for lease, ahead of the market’s opening towards the end of the year. The souq is part of the Heart of Sharjah development, one the largest heritage developments in the Gulf region. Souq Al Shinasiyah was one of ...