Country Profile:
Emirates: Sharjah
Emirates: Sharjah
Sharjah combines a proud culture and heritage with a forward thinking outlook on economic development. Indeed, the third largest emirate - its total land mass is 83,000 sq km- accounts for 47% of industrial GDP in
the UAE. Sheikh Sultan Al Quasimi has worked to ensure that Sharjah's thriving economy, which is founded on international trade, has not come at the expense of it being suffocated by a homogenised global culture. He also remains committed to ensuring it complements, rather than competes with, its neighbouring emirates.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
COUNTRY PROFILE
This section provides a quick overview of some facts about the country, its population, geography, culture, education system, religion and climate.
POLITICS
Sharjah has embraced liberalisation reforms, offering incentives for both investment and residence. The emirate's economic development has gone hand-in-hand with a number of cultural, social and political reforms that have enabled a rapid progression while at the same time maintaining its traditional principles. Also featured in this chapter, OBG interviews Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Crown Prince and Deputy Ruler of Sharjah. Anthony Harris, Director of Robert Fleming Insurance Brokers Middle East, and former UK Ambassador to the UAE offers a viewpoint on the emirate's seafaring and trading history.
THE ECONOMY
Sharjah is working hard to build on its economic strengths and to develop new ones. Industry is at the heart of the emirate's economy, although it also has reserves of oil and gas and a flourishing real estate sector. In addition, it is developing its hydrocarbons sector, courting more industrial companies and promoting itself as a destination for tourism, a logistics and education centre, and the cultural heart of the UAE. In this chapter, OBG interviews Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairman of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
Though interdependence between the emirates is a defining characteristic of financial services in the UAE, this coexists with a regionalism created and sustained by the importance of local business, family ties and political relationships. As a result, the nation has not seen the wave of consolidation that might be expected in light of its economic policies that push strict compliance with market efficiency. This has left the financial services sector of the emirates essentially fragmented into a number of smaller players.
INDUSTRY
Sharjah's historical claim to fame has undoubtedly been its healthy industrial sector.
Stretching inland from the busy seafront, the emirate's free zones and industrial areas are buzzing with activity, as a myriad of small and medium-sized enterprises sit alongside a host of large companies and multinational firms. Also in this chapter: an OBG interview with Ahmed Mohammed al-Midfa, Chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
ENERGY
Although not as well known for energy production as some of its neighbours, Sharjah's contribution to the UAE's international oil and gas standing is impressive nonetheless. Providing substantial quantities of hydrocarbons over the years, the emirate has also developed an energy sector that is highly self-contained, and boasts its own power generation network, which is undergoing an expansion in line with the emirate's rapid economic growth. On top of this, Sharjah and follows an open policy towards investment, which has been very encouraging to foreign investors. This chapter features an interview with Hamid Jafar, Chairman and CEO of Crescent Petroleum.
TRANSPORT
Situated close to the mouth of the Gulf, the site of heavy traffic in hydrocarbons, and with ports on both the Gulf and the Indian Ocean, Sharjah has long been a key transportation hub. The emirate's proximity to economically booming neighbours such as Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Saudi Arabia and Oman has given it a regional presence as a logistics centre as construction materials and consumer goods continue to flood its ports. Meanwhile, its international presence has never been stronger, with many routes on company maps around the world leading inexorably to its ports and terminals. Also in this section, OBG interviews Peter Richards, General Manager of Gulftainer.
TOURISM
Sharjah has plenty to offer potential travellers, and has gone to great measures to bring in even more visitors. In the past five years, the number of tourists arriving in the emirate has doubled, as the government is determined to establish an annual growth rate in the sector of between 8% and 10%. With a focus on cultural and educational tourism, and with recent moves towards eco-tourism, it is quite likely to succeed in its endeavours. Rounding out this chapter, OBG interviews Mohamed Ali al-Noman, Director of the Sharjah Commerce and Tourism Development Authority.
CONSTRUCTION & REAL ESTATE
The construction industry continues to prosper in Sharjah, with construction-related GDP increasing by some 24% in 2005. The $4.9bn Nujoom Islands project is the star attraction as the emirate looks to make the most of the UAE-wide property boom. However, soaring production costs and a potential shortage of skilled labour could become problematic for the sector in the years ahead.
EDUCATION
Sharjah has long committed itself to the firm belief that education is one of the key pillars of a successful modern economy. In keeping with this, the emirate is also developing its education sector as part of its overall economic diversification plans and has been enjoying an increasing amount of success in attracting students from other emirates and the wider region to its institutions. With across the board up-grades in the works, the emirate aims to become a regional hub for higher education. In this section, OBG provides an interview with Ismail al-Bishri, Chancellor of University of Sharjah.
CULTURE
Sharjah styles itself as the cultural heart of the UAE and speaks proudly of its museums, book fairs, art exhibitions and heritage areas, which it sees as both a means to develop its own society and as solid basis for a sustainable yet non-intrusive tourism sector. In this section, Sue Underwood, Director of the Sharjah Museums Authority, offers her viewpoint on the role of museums in preserving the emirates historical legacy.
HISTORY
The sea has played a major role throughout the history of Sharjah. The emirate relied upon the ocean for its early prosperity - fishing, pearling, ship building and trading were central to Sharjah's economic development. Its maritime significance did not go unnoticed by other foreign powers, and much of the colonial focus in the Gulf centred on its prime position for international trade, as a vital transit point between the trading centres of Africa, Europe and the Far East.
THE BUSINESS GUIDE
PricewaterhouseCoopers provides an overview of various taxes and duties, as well as the international double tax treaty network and the economic free zones of Sharjah and the greater UAE. In the second part of this section, Essam al-Tamimi, Managing Partner at Al Tamimi & Company provides a viewpoint on the key areas of past and future economic development in Sharjah, including the industrial, property and financial sectors, its free zones, infrastructure, and its role as the cultural capital of the UAE.
THE GUIDE
This section offers a look at the itinerary of a typical day in Sharjah during the holy month of Ramadan, as well as iftar , the traditional evening meal that marks the breaking of the daily fast. Also included in this section, hotel listings for some of the finest establishments in the emirate; a listing of various agencies, banks, emergency numbers and government offices; and facts for those planning to visit the emirate.
FACTS FOR VISITORS
This section offers useful tips for business travellers, on topics like currency, visas, language, communications, dress, business hours and electricity.
