Sharjah24: Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone (SPC Free Zone) has announced that in 2021, it witnessed an impressive growth in the number of new company registrations with a total of 2000 new companies from across 106 countries, largely from the UK, India, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Lebanon. Stakeholders in the education and publishing sectors, and creative sector players such as translation agencies and linguistic editing offices, have leveraged SPC Free Zone’s nurturing and supportive environment and advanced infrastructure to conduct business and expand operations in the region in 2021.

In a testament to SPC Free Zone’s leading status as an ideal hub for publishing and knowledge industries, the number of newly registered publishing companies and allied businesses raised over the previous year. This reflects the emirate’s ongoing efforts to attract investments in diverse economic sectors, including creative industries through the free zone’s portfolio of advanced services and state-of-the-art facilities that cater to investors’ needs. 


The launch of several initiatives to attract investors and cultural and academic entities to set base in the emirate has seen SPC Free Zone successfully strengthen its leading position as a driver of economic growth and diversification and become a haven for entrepreneurs across a spectrum of creative industries.


Covering an area of 40,000 square metres, SPC provides 600 furnished offices for publishing entrepreneurs and 6,000 square metres of space for investors planning to create their own spaces. It also houses more than 20 conference rooms, stores, service facilities and a public administration branch of the Federal Authority for Identity and Citizenship to speed up the visa processing for investors.


Open 24/7, SPC Free Zone offers investors a wide range of benefits including 100% foreign ownership for all nationalities, 100% repatriation of capital, 100% exemption from personal income tax, corporate tax, import and export tax, as well as access to all other services at cost-effective rates, including manpower, energy, living, printing, and logistics. 


SPC Free Zone gets ISO 9001:2015
Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone was awarded the Quality Management System Certificate (ISO 9001:2015) in 2021 in recognition of its excellence as a business incubator and for providing a supportive environment for investors and start-ups in the publishing and allied sectors. 


In 2021, SPC Free Zone signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Mashreq Bank to offer priority access to an array of financial and banking services to its investors and entrepreneurs in different market sectors. 


Investment in knowledge
Ahmed bin Rakkad Al Ameri, Chairman of the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA), said: “Under the directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, the emirate has emerged as a leading and pioneering city that supports investments in the creative sector and provides a world-class infrastructure for entrepreneurs. Through its initiatives and ever-expanding range of services and facilities since inception in 2014, the free zone is providing promising opportunities for entrepreneurs and investors in creative industries to scale up their businesses and thrive.”

 
The SBA Chairman added: “The achievements of Sharjah in the publishing sector are paving the way for the promotion of creativity and innovation and enhancing the emirate’s position as a nurturing economic ecosystem that invests in knowledge and culture and attracts publishers and bookmakers to the emirate to set up business and expand to international markets.”


A new era of development
Salim Omar Salim, the Director of Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone (SPC Free Zone) noted that the increasing number of investors wanting to start their business in the free zone is a testament to Sharjah’s status as a leading knowledge capital of the world and its successful efforts in creating an inclusive ecosystem for regional and international publishers.


He added: “At the beginning of each year, we embark on a new journey in our development process to provide our investors and partners with new ideas and initiatives to keep pace with the fast-changing world and to fulfil the varied demands of our investors. It is the responsibility of SPC Free Zone to provide essential services and facilities to help our stakeholders thrive and grow at all levels.”