Italian delegation explores SPC Free Zones business incentives

SHARJAH- The Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone (SPCFZ) is exploring ways to strengthen cooperation between Sharjah and the Italian region of Lazio in the publishing sector with a delegation of Italian officials attached to Lazio Innova, representing the Lazio Region, the Italian Chamber of Commerce in Rome, as well as representatives of Italian companies in the publishing sector.

This was stated during a virtual meeting organised by Lazio Innova recently to present Lazio Region’s programme at the forthcoming Expo 2020 Dubai, in which Salim Omar Salim, Director of SPC Free Zone, participated. The Italian team was represented by Quirino Briganti, Coordinator of Expo 2020 Dubai for Lazio Region; Laura Tassinari Zugni Tauro, Director of Internationalisation, Cluster and Studies, Lazio Innova; and Beatrice Calabrese, Senior Trade Analyst, Italian Chamber of Commerce in Dubai, among others.

Salim introduced Sharjah to the Italian team as a cultural powerhouse that is also a global economic destination, nurturing an ecosystem that meets the demands and fulfils every need of businesses and investors.

The meeting also helped the Italian delegation to learn closely about the SPCFZ’s facilities and offerings to Italian publishers, as well as its efforts to support the regional and global publishing industries.

Addressing the delegation, Salim said, "Our key objective is to provide comprehensive and world-class publishing services and infrastructure to UAE and the region, which would also enable publishers from around the globe to expand their operations in the Middle East from Sharjah." "The SPCFZ offers publishers as well as SMEs, start-ups and entrepreneurs a wide range of integrated services including streamlined processes, ease of doing business, flexible laws and regulations, 100 percent foreign ownership as well as low publishing costs and skilled manpower, all in one place. These are among the reasons that 73 new enterprises from 23 countries chose the SPCFZ as their base in the region in 2020, despite the challenges resulting from the pandemic," he added.

Sharing his market outlook, Salim stressed that effective partnerships were instrumental to the industry’s future development.

"We are boosting efforts to attract Italian publishers to the local market, which is ripe with opportunities for them, given the large Italian community in the UAE and the larger region that they will cater to from the SPCFZ," he said in conclusion.

During the meeting, the delegation learnt about the Sharjah International Book Fair and its awards, which include the Tarjman Award. They also discussed enhancing opportunities in various cultural, economic fields and new businesses in different sectors in Sharjah and the UAE.

The SPCFZ represents a modern, integrated business community and an incubator environment of enterprises, companies, and institutions of various specialisations, as it opens its doors to established and support the growth of business sustainability by providing a wide choice of motivational packages and facilitating official transactions.