One of seven emirates that make up the UAE federation, Sharjah is the third largest by landmass and the only emirate with a coastline on both the Arabian Gulf and the Indian Ocean. With key logistical hubs on both coasts and an international border with the Sultanate of Oman, Sharjah is a perfect business destination for export, re-export and imports to and from the emirate – as well as onwards to the wider UAE and other GCC destinations.

Sharjah is the third largest economy within the United Arab Emirates with the emirate’s GDP recorded at USD 24.81 billion, with a year-on-year growth rate of +3.5 per cent, by end of 2015. Sharjah’s GDP per capita, for the same period, is USD 28,700.

According to the credit-rating agency Standards and Poor’s (S&Ps), Sharjah was ranked A/A-1, in 2015. The UAE, as a whole, was awarded AA rating.

The four largest sectors in Sharjah’s economy are: Real Estate and Business services (20 per cent), Manufacturing (16 per cent), Mining, Quarrying and Energy (13 per cent) and Wholesale and Retail (12 per cent).

Offering one of the most business-friendly environments in the Middle East region, with options for either on-shore or 100 per cent foreign business ownership in several freezone areas, Sharjah is an attractive business and investment destination. Providing zero per cent income tax, 100 per cent foreign ownership and 100 percent profit repatriation for free zone companies, its on-shore businesses require the lowest minimum capital requirement of all the UAE’s seven emirates, at AED 150,000 (USD 40,835).

Sharjah’s increasingly diverse economy means that revenue generated outside of hydrocarbon energy resources represents 87 per cent of GDP. This means that the emirate’s economy is increasingly less affected by oil price fluctuations. In addition to Sharjah’s domestic economy, federal infrastructural projects, co-ordinated from the UAE’s capital in Abu Dhabi, will also continue to play an important role in supporting and providing further inward investment to Sharjah’s economy.

Sharjah Asset Management is a government-owned investment company responsible for all investment activities of the Government of Sharjah. It is an integral arm in the realisation of the “Sharjah 2020 Vision”.

The Sharjah 2020 Vision addresses the long-term strategy for Sharjah’s ongoing development, setting goals and objectives with far reaching impact in order to enhance Sharjah’s domestic, federal and international economic development.

Charged with creating and managing stable investment portfolios that generate solid returns, Sharjah Asset Management’s portfolio consists of four core target sectors: Banking, Oil and Gas, Transportation and Industrial. In addition to managing strategic relationships with other entities in GCC countries, Sharjah Asset Management is responsible for managing a variety of inter-governmental relationships within the emirate and the wider UAE..