Sharjah24: Saud Salim Al Mazrouei, Director of the Hamriyah Free Zone Authority (HFZA), emphasized that free zones have played a major and vital role not only in fostering Sharjah's economic growth and attracting more enterprises and direct foreign investments to the Emirate, but also in improving Sharjah's competitiveness and solidifying its reputation as a major international economic hub.

Al Mazrouei’s remarks were made during the 21st World Congress of Accountants (WCOA) held in Mumbai, from November 18 to 19. The global event was attended by more than 6000 participants from 100 countries around the world, together with 5000+ virtual attendants. HFZA was the official sponsor of the conference, which is the largest gathering of accountants in the world.

The free zone’s delegation taking part in the conference featured H.E. Saud Salim Al Mazrouei, Ramesh T V, Chief Financial Officer of HFZA, and Muhannad Obaid Rashid Bu Afra, Finance Director of SAIF Zone.

Wise vision
Speaking during the event, Al Mazrouei stressed that Free Trade Zones are the cornerstone of development and create a welcoming atmosphere for foreign investment and contribute effectively to strengthen global competitiveness of economies.

“The Emirate of Sharjah and its free zones are a major supporter of the global economy, enhancing its competitiveness and improving its ability to recover from the repercussions of the pandemic. Sharjah has become the gateway to global trade, a safe haven for all investments, and a trade hub connecting the east with the west," Al Mazrouei said, adding that the Emirate plays an important role through its free zones in underpinning existing businesses and attracting additional investments.

He went on to say that thanks to the wise vision and directives of His Highness Sheikh Dr. Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, Supreme Council Member and Ruler of Sharjah, the emirate has successfully promoted the global reputation of its economy as a leading destination for foreign investments. “We at the Hamriyah Free Zone recognized our responsibility in this respect and are therefore providing an incubating environment for investments and investors, proving the validity of the equation "Free zones are necessary for both business growth and competition; neither exists without free zones."

HFZA Director stressed that free zones play a vital role in upgrading any country’s economic system, now that they are a major contributor to creating numerous job opportunities. Free zones not only facilitate the rapid transfer of technology and skills, but can also help develop economic sectors such as trade, manufacturing industries, and logistics services.

He stressed that HFZA has created an integrated system of incentives and advantages to draw in more businesses. In addition to providing a flexible legislative and legal system that is able to quickly adapt to changes, HFZA accelerated the establishment of an advanced and modern infrastructure and is thereby offering modern services, cutting-edge facilities, communications, a transportation network, and logistical services, in addition to easy-to-access strategic locations to global markets.

Al Mazrouei underscored that the HFZA is providing unmatched benefits to different investors from around the world, while embracing a digital transformation strategy to deliver smart services, attract foreign direct investment. “From proactively reaching out to customers and investors, to foreseeing and meeting their needs, HFZA is committed to help investors do business easily and smoothly,”.

Strong economic relations with India
In his speech, Al Mazrouei spoke highly of the prosperous  economic relations between the UAE and India, saying that such flourishing relations have recently reached a pinnacle with the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, an agreement that reflects the strong trade ties and solid and historical economic partnerships between the two countries.

"This agreement will yield many good results, most notably the doubling of intra-trade by up to 120% to approximately $100 billion in five years from its present value of about $45 billion, while it will accomplish a rise of 1.7% or $9 billion to the national GDP by 2030 and create around 140,000 job opportunities for the talented and skilled within the UAE economy over the same period." 

During the event, Al Mazrouei shed light on the four pillars making up the institutional culture adopted by the HFZA to serve its customers. The first of which revolves around the ease of doing business and creating an easy, fast, and smooth work environment to enhance efficiency and quality of all services. The second pillar has something to do with the strategic location, speed of connection, and access to target markets. The third focuses on the partnerships, cooperation, and dialogue between HFZA and its clients, while the fourth pillar revolves around the value added while conducting business at HFZA.

Auditing protects the economy
Al Mazrouei reaffirmed that auditing is crucial for preventing the mismanagement of the economy, institutions, and businesses, preserving corporate financial solvency, boosting client confidence, and safeguarding the funds of shareholders, partners, customers, suppliers, and all other parties involved.

He emphasized that auditing is a crucial foundation for future economies as it provides the framework for attracting and safeguarding investments by supporting ethical professional conduct, upholding individual rights, and fostering economic growth.

The World Congress of Accountants (WCOA), which was attended by senior officials, decision-makers, and representatives of targeted sectors from all over the world, is an ideal global platform for exchanging ideas and holding interactive discussions between representatives from various fields of accounting, financial services, and business.

In addition to offering industrial and commercial plots of land, HFZA, the second-largest industrial-free zone in the UAE, houses more than 6900 companies and provides advanced infrastructure and modern facilities that strengthen external expansion plans for investors, especially in importing and re-exporting, to the world’s markets. It also provides countless competitive advantages, most notably a single-window operation that boosts efficiency and eases procedures for doing business, along with multiple tax exemptions, repatriation of capital and profits, full foreign ownership of the business, and quick access to regional and global markets.