17 January 2017
Dubai and Abu Dhabi are two of the most high profile business hubs in the Middle East, but the emirate of Sharjah is also attracting attention, especially from more conservative investors.
A survey of 127 high net worth individuals in the Gulf, released last year by real estate firm Cluttons, found the emirate of Sharjah was rated the third most popular investment location in the Middle East, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi and ahead of regional capital cities such as Doha, Riyadh, Kuwait City and Muscat.
One of seven emirates that makes up the United Arab Emirates, Sharjah’s increased popularity as an investment destination has been attributed to the introduction in late 2014 of new regulations allowing non-Emirati investors to buy property in the emirate.
“The Syrians have bought in large quantities here,” Suzanne Eveleigh, head of Cluttons’s office in Sharjah, told Zawya in an interview.
“It is a conservative and steady market without the peaks and troughs in other markets so people feel comfortable buying here. For Syrians and other Arabs it is quite a conservative place and it fits well with their conservative values. It is a really family place so it has been extremely popular,” she added.
Real estate is an important market in the emirate and the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced it was focused on developing the hotel apartment sector in 2017, in a bid to attract more visitors and investors to the emirate. Read more here.
After all, oil only makes up 1 percent of Sharjah’s GDP, the Oxford Business Group stated in its review of 2016, citing comments by Marwan al Sarkal, CEO of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq). Real estate and business services contribute 22 percent, followed by manufacturing (17 percent), and wholesale and retail (12 percent). Read more here.
The ambitious plans were solidified this month when Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, approved a 22 billion dirham ($5.98 billion) budget for 2017, the largest in the emirate’s history. Read more here.
© Express 2017
Dubai and Abu Dhabi are two of the most high profile business hubs in the Middle East, but the emirate of Sharjah is also attracting attention, especially from more conservative investors.
A survey of 127 high net worth individuals in the Gulf, released last year by real estate firm Cluttons, found the emirate of Sharjah was rated the third most popular investment location in the Middle East, after Dubai and Abu Dhabi and ahead of regional capital cities such as Doha, Riyadh, Kuwait City and Muscat.
One of seven emirates that makes up the United Arab Emirates, Sharjah’s increased popularity as an investment destination has been attributed to the introduction in late 2014 of new regulations allowing non-Emirati investors to buy property in the emirate.
“The Syrians have bought in large quantities here,” Suzanne Eveleigh, head of Cluttons’s office in Sharjah, told Zawya in an interview.
“It is a conservative and steady market without the peaks and troughs in other markets so people feel comfortable buying here. For Syrians and other Arabs it is quite a conservative place and it fits well with their conservative values. It is a really family place so it has been extremely popular,” she added.
Real estate is an important market in the emirate and the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry announced it was focused on developing the hotel apartment sector in 2017, in a bid to attract more visitors and investors to the emirate. Read more here.
After all, oil only makes up 1 percent of Sharjah’s GDP, the Oxford Business Group stated in its review of 2016, citing comments by Marwan al Sarkal, CEO of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq). Real estate and business services contribute 22 percent, followed by manufacturing (17 percent), and wholesale and retail (12 percent). Read more here.
The ambitious plans were solidified this month when Sheikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, approved a 22 billion dirham ($5.98 billion) budget for 2017, the largest in the emirate’s history. Read more here.
© Express 2017
