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Why
Sharjah? |
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Investment
Climate in Sharjah
Investment Incentives in Sharjah
Rise in Local Demand on Goods and Services:
The income per capita in Sharjah and the UAE
in general is regarded as being among the highest
in the world. This reflects the high standards
of living of the majority of the population.
The government also provides free services in
the health, education and social welfare sectors.
These factors have strengthened the purchasing
power of the population, and consequently led
to a rise in local demand on goods and services.
There is an encouraging environment for investment
in various projects that produces such services
and goods. The population is also growing at
a fast pace, which means demand will also continue
to rise in the future.
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| Merits of Investment
in Sharjah: |
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Custom duties
imposed on imports are nominal, not exceeding
five per cent. It has to do with the custom tariffs
of the Arab Gulf Cooperation Council (AGCC) that
came into effect on January 1, 2002. |
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Ports in Sharjah offer additional advantages to
investors, like warehousing facilities that allow
investors to store their goods for free for up to
two months |
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Sharjah enables investors to have restriction-free
commercial and financial transactions, including
the transfer of all their profits and capital or
conducting other exterior financial dealings |
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Guarantee of private investment liberty, with
total exemption of taxes, including income taxes |
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Fast procedures when licensing various trade,
industrial and professional activities |
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| Merits of Investment
in the Industrial Sector: |
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The Sharjah Chamber
of Commerce and Industry leads the way in extending
full support to local industries. It provides
technical consultation in the preparation of feasibility
studies, and moves on to back operational phases
through a special industrial development section,
which also conducts fields studies and evaluations.
Proposals to improve performance are also taken
up by the chamber which seeks to eradicate obstacles
and find appropriate solutions to any problems |
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The policy of the Sharjah
Government in setting high-performance structural
and service foundations to boost industrial activity.
The industrial area of around 40 square meters
has been divided into 16 districts, each of which
subdivided to accommodate a certain industrial
area. The industrial area makes up some 40 per
cent of the total area of Sharjah, and has residential
units for laborers and modern road networks linking
it with ports and airports |
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The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce
and Industry has set up a model industrial area,
including infrastructure projects for utilities.
It also has a site for a mosque, car parking lots
and a branch office of Sharjah Municipality |
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Reduced costs of industrial
production. Labor and accommodation costs are
low compared with other emirates (by around 35
per cent). The Sharjah Government is also working
on providing utilities at reasonable prices, as
it shoulders 70 per cent of the actual costs of
energy and water production |
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Sharjah is committed to the
application of internationally recognized specifications
and measurements on manufactured products. This
is an important advantage for new investors especially
in the industrial sector, as they would not face
any obstacles in marketing their products outside
the UAE |
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Labor Wage Levels
in Sharjah:
Sharjah has a sufficient workforce of all technical
specializations at competitive wages. Laborers
are provided with living necessities and accommodation
at reasonable costs that suit labor budgets.
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| Wages in Sharjah
as Per Economic Sector – 2001 |
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Sector |
Million
AED |
Million
$ |
Agriculture,
cattle and fisheries |
207 |
55.89.11 |
Oil
and natural gas |
93 |
25.11 |
Rock
crushing sites |
15 |
4.05 |
Conversion
industries |
1,080 |
291.10 |
Electricity
and Water |
161 |
43.47 |
Construction |
1,092 |
294.84 |
Wholesale
and retail trade and repair services |
1,258 |
366.66 |
Restaurants
and Hotels |
179 |
48.23 |
Transportation,
storage and telecommunications |
574 |
154.98 |
Real-estate
and business services |
203 |
78.84 |
Social
and personal services |
292 |
78.84 |
Financial
projects |
200 |
54 |
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Financing Investment Projects, Especially Industrial
Banks and some specialized financial institutions
in the UAE provide finance to various economic
activities, like commercial and investment activities.
Financing mechanisms differ according to the
bank. Loan policies in industrial projects provided
by commercial banks are different from those
provided by specialized banks like the Emirates
Industrial Bank.
Commercial Banks:
Lending policies in these banks are based on
priorities and interest rates that they fix
by themselves. For instance, the interest rate
charged by these banks on loans given to industrial
projects did not exceed 14 per cent till the
end of 2000. Guarantees and required documents
differ from bank to bank, as conditions vary.
Investors can negotiate deals or directly make
their inquiries at banking institutions.
Emirates Industrial
Bank:
The UAE government has established the Emirates
Industrial Bank to finance industrial projects
in the public and private sectors where national
contribution is at least 51 per cent. The bank
finances industries , whose economic feasibility
it is convinced. Finance is provided through
loans or by a contribution to the capital invested
in the project. In the latter case, the projects
that get the finance are those which are considered
as important for industrial development in the
country.
Before granting the loans, the bank conducts
feasibility studies as well as technical research
on the proposed industrial project. Clients
are presented with an expert evaluation that
helps them with upgrading the efficiency of
their projects. The evaluation incorporates
feasibility studies, financial and engineering
analyses, marketing research and legal consultancy.
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