Sharjah Publishing City (SPC), the first region in the world to concentrate on publishing and printing, is one of the industry-specific free zones in the United Arab Emirates. Despite having a more specialized range of sectors, Sharjah Publishing City has expanded tremendously, boasting businesses from more than 20 different nations and regular events to promote entrepreneurs.
What exactly is it that encourages business owners to open offices in Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone (SPCFZ)? A few of those factors will be covered in detail in this blog.
Reason 1: A Strategic Location
Between Dubai and Abu Dhabi, Sharjah Publishing City is ideally situated in the middle of the Emirate. It is surrounded by important transportation corridors, including airports with 6-hour flights to international markets and seaports with connections to the east and west. For better local operations, Sharjah even has common borders with the other emirates of the UAE.
Sharjah has a long history of supporting the regional publishing sector. The Sharjah Art Museum and the Sharjah Museum of Islamic Civilization are only two of the many museums and cultural institutions in the emirate, which is renowned as the Culture Capital of the Arab World. The yearly Sharjah International Book Fair takes place there as well. SPC is a great place for publishing firms wishing to start up or grow in the Middle East because of all of these factors.
Reason 2: A Business-Friendly Environment
SPCFZ provides a setting that encourages business success. Incentives available in the free zone include the ability to hire foreign workers, 100% foreign ownership, exemptions from company or personal taxes, zero limits on currency exchange, and no customs tariffs on imports and exports.
The fact that Sharjah Publishing City boasts the quickest incorporation procedure—where business licenses are issued in only 45 minutes and UAE residence applications take five days—adds to these incentives. Additionally, costs are reasonable; business license packages begin at about AED 6,000.
Reason 3: A Variety of Business Activities
Companies that establish in Sharjah Publishing City are permitted to engage in more than 1,500 economic activities. Typically, these are included under publishing, printing, distribution services, and similar categories. Furthermore, there is the choice of dual licensing, which enables companies to run operations from both the mainland UAE and the free zone simultaneously, as well as the possibility to engage in up to five distinct activities under a single license.
Reason 4: State-of-the-Art Infrastructure
Sharjah Publishing City is no exception to the UAE’s sophisticated infrastructure, which is a well-known advantage of conducting business there. Investors can anticipate modern office amenities, cutting-edge telecommunication and IT services, easily accessible warehouses, storage facilities, and shell & core facilities.
Retail stores, dining establishments, cafes, and exercise facilities abound in the jurisdiction, allowing business owners and their staff to enjoy their downtime there.
Reason 5: Supportive Public & Private Partnerships
Generally speaking, Sharjah’s government is strongly devoted to helping its company owners and entrepreneurs flourish by offering a variety of projects and programs. For instance, the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa) is an incubator that provides finance, training, and coaching for entrepreneurs and SMEs.
The Sharjah Book Authority, which encourages and boosts industry investments, the Sharjah International Literacy Agency, which safeguards publisher rights and advances Arabic cultural content, and the Sharjah International Book Fair, the third-largest of its kind in the world, are additional SPC-based initiatives.