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| Source: OBG. |
Sharjah has a long history. the Gulf’s first airport was established in Sharjah in 1932, and the emirate’s Port Khalid was the first container port to begin operating in the region. More recently, government-funded economic development programmes, the establishment of two economic free zones and the quickly growing number of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) have helped underpin the emirate’s growth trajectory, notes the OBG in an online introduction to The Report: Sharjah 2016.
OBG states that the ratings agency Standard & Poor’s reaffirmed its stable outlook for the emirate based on its low debt burden, a well-diversified industrial base and the government’s strong fiscal management in early 2016. The finance sector’s confidence in the emirate has been underscored by the strong investor demand for sukuk launched by the government in 2014 and 2016, it adds.
In late September 2016 the Sharjah Foreign Direct Investment forum will seek to highlight investment opportunities in sectors expected to fuel growth moving forward, namely healthcare, environment, tourism, and transport and logistics.