C O U N T R Y R E P O R T

BUSINESS PROPERTY CULTURE TRAVELA hot spot for innovation: how the

state, universities and private sector nurture entrepreneurs and start-ups

from concept to product P4

Sharjah’s flourishing property sector is welcoming a raft of developments that will usher in a new chapter for real estate in the emirate P10-11

The creative use of heritage buildings to house its collection of contemporary Arab art has won Sharjah international plaudits P17

Why Sharjah’s careful preservation of its natural assets – beaches, desert,

wadis and mangroves – sets the emirate apart from its neighbours P18

A woman’s worth

Leading the way in female

empowerment

From glittering new developments to the

digital revolution – Sharjah is 21st-century ready

The future is now

Business, education, culture… Planning for the future while respecting the past has placed Sharjah at the centre of the Arab world, says Nigel Kendall

Sharjah, the third largest of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is blazing a trail as a clean-energy pioneer, seat of learning and cultural Arabic powerhouse. The first humans are

known to have arrived in the region more than 120,000 years ago, so it can lay claim to being one of the true cradles of civilisation.

Its storied past has inspired Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, the ruler of the emirate since 1972, to oversee an innovative programme of cultural and business development that has run hand in hand with improved access to education, health and information for his people.

The emirate is welcoming and forward-thinking, but it also desires to preserve its culture and traditions. It takes a conservative attitude to dress and alcohol is banned, but it remains a very safe place to visit. An increased emphasis on education, culture and heritage has brought numerous accolades, including being named Arab Capital of Culture by Unesco in 1998.

Awards for past work are welcome, but the eyes of Sheikh Sultan remain fixed firmly on the future. “Building the future relies on building the human being, whereby the human resources compose the most vital factor in the process of development,” he has said. It is a theme that is reflected in the world-class cultural initiatives that are now established here, such as the Sharjah Biennial, which showcases the best of contemporary Arab art, but also in real-estate developments that point to a new way of city living in the 21st century.

Challenging preconceived perceptions of Middle Eastern royalty, Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al-Qasimi – the ruler’s eldest daughter – is one of the

women who has helped drive Sharjah’s transformation over the past decade.

Both a mother and a keen mountaineer, Sheikha Bodour is a formidable business figure in her own right. She became the first woman to chair the World Economic Forum’s influential Regional Business Council for the Middle East and North Africa, a position she took up in May 2017. Likewise, she has become a forceful campaigner for women’s rights in the region.

Like her father, Sheikha Bodour is as passionate about improving the cultural and business landscape of the emirate as she is its physical terrain. As the chair of both Shurooq, the emirate’s Investment and Development Authority, and Eagle Hills Sharjah Development, Sheikha Bodour is focused both on the “strategic diversification of the economy” and “developing the

real-estate sector” ensuring new projects reflect Sharjah’s Arab and Islamic identity.

Shurooq and Eagle Hills recently announced plans for three mega-projects worth more than half a billion pounds (2.7 billion dirham) which Sheikha Bodour has said are “a new chapter for the emirate’s real-estate sector”.

Sheikha Bodour says that her next priority is to give a platform to younger Arabian voices. “The Arab world is one of the most youthful areas in the world,” she says. “The potential for economic growth, if youth is given the right opportunity, is limitless.”

Under her leadership, an initiative to help young entrepreneurs gain access to the market has been launched. “Sharjah has recognised that the only way forward to create jobs and stimulate innovation is through entrepreneurship,” she says.

Sheikha Bodour was educated at Cambridge before gaining an MSc in

Meanwhile, the Sharjah International Book Fair has grown to become the world’s third largest such event and the new Sharjah Publishing City (SPC) looks set to expand the emirate’s relationship with publishers further.

Inaugurated in October 2017, SPC is the first free zone of its type in the world, providing a tax-efficient environment for global publishers, distributors, printers, translators and associated businesses at the centre of the Arab book market – thought to be worth more than £700 million ($1 billion) per year. Appropriately, Sharjah has been named World Book Capital 2019 by Unesco. Its historic city centre – just a 40-minute drive from Dubai – is also seeking Unesco world heritage site status.

SPC is just one of four new free zones that are part of a wider strategy to help Sharjah remain at the forefront of the

medical anthropology from University College London. She is also a cultural and literary champion, a mother-of-three who made time to climb Mount Kilimanjaro in 2015, and the founder of the publishing house Kalimat Group, the first in the UAE dedicated to the production of quality original Arabic children’s titles. (The “lightning bulb” moment came when she found that there were no fun and interesting books in Arabic to read with her daughter.)

Since then, Sheikha Bodour has played a major role in several initiatives aimed at encouraging Emiratis to take more pleasure in reading. She is the founder and patron of the Emirates Publishers Association, which represents UAE publishers internationally. In October, Sharjah Publishing City opened as the world’s first free-trade zone for publishing, an integral part of the royal family’s vision for a flourishing literary scene. Unesco has selected Sharjah to be World Book Capital in 2019 in recognition of the emirate’s commitment to promoting books, literacy and culture.

Sheikha Bodour says the emirate is “excited to host the world in Sharjah to celebrate all kinds of books and cultures”. The celebrations will be themed: “Read… You are in Sharjah’.

“It is a tremendous honour to have been given this recognition,” she says, adding that this is a reflection of her father’s “relentless efforts that the emirate become a cultural hub of literature in all its forms”. At the heart of the cultural initiatives is the “emirate’s longstanding commitment to use knowledge sharing and dialogue as a bridge between cultures and civilisations”, she says.

It is certain that Sheikha Bodour played an important role in making these connections between Sharjah and the rest of the world.

A SHEIKHA READY TO SCALE THE DIZZY HEIGHTS

An innovative emirate in touch with its heritage

From the natural treasures of the Khor Kalba mangroves on Sharjah’s east coast to the extraordinary

Wasit wetlands in its inner suburbs, heritage and the environment occupy a pivotal place in the life of an emirate that cares about its past while keeping pace with the times.

Under the personal guidance of the ruler, Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi, conservation has become a priority giving the emirate an identity many see as unique.

“He has single-handedly driven the process,” says Peter Jackson, the British architect adviser in the ruler’s office. “For Sharjah, the result is a city and emirate of this region as opposed to a spaceship that could be anywhere. This is a 21st-century city rooted firmly in the Arab world and Islam.”

At the Sharjah Desert Park, with its Natural History Museum, Islamic Botanical Garden and Arabian Wildlife Center, an extended programme of breeding and conservation sustains indigenous species – including leopards, wolves, hyenas and caracals – that otherwise faced extinction because of urbanisation and a rapidly expanding population.

The Wasit Wetland Centre, says Jackson, is “an amazing oasis of tranquillity”, a rehabilitated city-centre wasteland where subterranean water

flows from the mountains into the salty coastal plain. Children and tourists alike have “a rare chance to view and learn about our migratory birds up close in their natural habitat”.

The descriptions evoke another world, far from the bustle of a dynamic city coping with the needs of 21st-century life and commerce.

Sharjah is also committed to preserving its historic architecture and Jackson, who has worked for the ruler for 11 years, is an ideal guide. He cites the neo-classical Islamic style of its mosques, the University City and government buildings along the waterfront and the squares and open spaces that contribute to Sharjah’s special urban character. He sees the ruler’s own hand in its architecture, notably the Central Souk and Museum of Islamic Civilization.

The ambitious but sensitively executed Heart of Sharjah project, the urban reconstruction and restoration of the historic core of the city, is due for completion by 2025, with the restored souk and new Arts Foundation complex blending the modern and traditional.

“At its best, Sharjah strike a balance between the two,” says Jackson. “It may not possess the world’s tallest building, but that is not its objective. What it may lack in quantity, it certainly does not lack in quality.” COLIN RANDALL

technological revolution. They follow in the footsteps of the country’s two original trade zones – Hamriyah Free Zone and Sharjah Airport International Free Zone – which have already attracted significant foreign investment.

Sharjah’s diverse economy, with ports on both the Gulf of Oman and the Arabian Gulf, means no single sector comprises more than 20 per cent of GDP. This has long helped cushion it from oil-price volatility, and the government is leading efforts to position the emirate at the centre of initiatives for greener energy generation, water desalination, waste recycling and eco-tourism.

The state is also making it easier to establish new businesses in the emirate and encourage start-ups, including the formation of Sheraa, the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center in 2016.

In a bid to foster innovation and fresh thinking, the government has also announced plans to award 10 per cent of all digital projects to start-ups and SMEs. The American University of Sharjah, regarded as one of the best research facilities in the Arab world, has also recently been the beneficiary of £358 million in state funding.

“We have achieved what we set out to achieve; a strong modern state, proud people living in dignity and prosperity who have preserved their identity, and with great achievements have brought honour to the country,” says Sheikh Sultan. “After a glorious past, the present bright times signal a brighter future, God willing.”

Building a brighter future

The ruler’s wife leads the way for the emirate’s women, writes Mitya Underwood

Giant leaps – one step at a time

Of the seven emirates in the UAE, Sharjah has one of the strongest records when it

comes to female empowerment.The Sharjah Art Foundation is

led by an Emirati woman, as is the Sharjah Family Development Centre. Across the UAE itself, women make up some 70 per cent of university graduates, according to the UAE’s US embassy.

But despite the positives, there is still some way to go. Sheikha Jawaher bint Muhammad Al-Qasimi, the wife of the ruler and chairperson of the Supreme Council of Family Affairs, is tackling this head-on with the NAMA Women Advancement Establishment, set up in 2015.

The organisation champions legislation to eradicate discrimination against women, as well as developing business skills for Sharjah’s female entrepreneurs.

Reem bin Karam, director of NAMA, is proud of the work the organisation has already done, saying it has “achieved many milestones in the past few years”.

Last December, NAMA hosted the first Women’s Economic Empowerment Global Summit in partnership with UN Women, which led to around 20 organisations pledging gender equality improvements by 2019.

Additionally, women from Sharjah have benefited from a scheme teaching them how to set up and run a successful business. The scheme, called Badiri, now has plans to go global, taking UAE-based women on a tour to see successful social enterprise schemes.

Christine Lagarde, the International Monetary Fund’s managing director, says the UAE’s track record of empowering women is “an example to be followed around the world”.

NAMA also hosts shows around the world as part of the Irthi Contemporary Crafts Council. Last year, a pop-up store was set up in London’s Fenwick of Bond Street to showcase top Emirati talent.

“It is important to empower those talents locally but it is even more important to help them expand their reach by utilising NAMA’s vast network,” says Ms Bin Karam.

Meet the mountain-climbing mother who is transforming the cultural and physical landscape of Sharjah. Karen Attwood reports

‘If youth is given the right opportunity, the potential for economic growth is limitless’

From top: Sheikha Bodour; an artist’s impression of an Eagle Hills development

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C O U N T R Y R E P O R TBROUGHT TO YOU BY

The Al Noor (Central) Mosque commands a view over the Khalid Lagoon in Sharjah’s commercial centre

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From the napkin to the world

A s Sharjah repositions itself as a knowledge-driven economy, it is creating a start-up ecosystem that will nurture entrepreneurs from concept to product – and

then, critically, on to sales.This driving mission is underpinned by a

“triple helix” approach to bring the pillars of private sector, universities and government together. As one of the seven emirates that comprise the UAE, Sharjah is acutely aware of the Gulf region’s reliance on oil and, in some areas, high youth unemployment.

Fostering a thriving start-up industry makes sense on so many levels and there is now a concerted effort to usher in a new generation of entrepreneurs.

To that end, bodies such as the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center (Sheraa); Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Ruwad initiative and its shjSEEN incubator set up in 2016; the private-sector backed CE-Creates; plus the Sharjah Tatweer Forum have all sprung up to act as a collective hub to bring such concepts to fruition.

According to Najla Al-Midfa, general manager of the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center, that ambition is a “natural step” for Sharjah because it is already an education hub. “It is known as a home

for talent within the UAE with some of the best universities,” she says.

Sheraa itself is based at the American University of Sharjah, which gives the accelerator access to a deep talent-pool of students and graduates. Since it was set up two years ago, 6,000 budding entrepreneurs have accessed its services. It has evaluated hundreds of business ideas and taken 70 of those ideas into its incubator and accelerator programmes.

“What Sheraa does really well is help people who come in with an idea on the back of a napkin and translate that into an initial product and get them ready to pitch to entrepreneurs,” Ms Midfa says. “It has been an amazing ride.” The incubator programme oversees a start-up team for six months during which time they develop advanced prototypes, go to market and generate sales.

The accelerator programme partners each team with a mentor to support early-stage start-ups as they scale their business through intensive workshops. Sheraa can connect them to its deep network of governmental entities and private-sector organisations for potential tie-ups and contracts.

To date, 20 start-ups have graduated from the accelerator programme. The most recent

It doesn’t matter how rudimentary the business plan is to begin with, if the idea is a good one, Sharjah has the institutions in place to bring the start-up to life. Phil Thornton reports

A long the coast from Dubai’s famous beaches, the lesser-known emirate of Sharjah is undergoing something of a makeover – and packing no less

of a punch. Plans are underway for a new two-mile-long beachfront development – with initial phases to be completed in the third quarter of this year – as well as a waterfront cycle and jogging path that will ultimately stretch from Ajman to Dubai.

Even before these investments, Sharjah’s tourism industry has helped drive one of the most diversified economies in the region, contributing more than 9 per cent of GDP in 2016. Last year some £288 million of new hotel projects were announced.

Sharjah is also aiming to foster an entrepreneurial spirit that will diversify the economy further. New economic tax-free zones specialising in healthcare, publishing, media and research are designed to attract more knowledge-based companies, preparing the emirate for the so-called “Fourth Industrial Revolution”.

Marwan bin Jassim Al-Sarkal, chief executive of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), said: “As Sharjah moves away from a hydrocarbon-based economy, we see that data is becoming the new currency, and fields such as medicine and teaching will benefit enormously, as digital, physical and biological spheres come together.”

Overall, S&P, the ratings agency, expects GDP growth in Sharjah to average 2 per cent from 2018 to 2021, based in part on construction “and the spillover effects of rising investment in Dubai in relation to its World Expo 2020”.

Property is booming, with transactions up by 46 per cent in the first half of 2017. Last year’s announcement of a £4.7 billion ($6.5 billion) mega deal to develop the Aljada urban residential district was swiftly followed by plans for the Maryam Island, Kalba Waterfront and Palace Al Khan

projects worth a total of £526 million ($734 million), which will include housing, offices, hotels and entertainment complexes.

While the wider oil industry still plays a significant part, Sharjah is preparing for a low-carbon future, forming a joint venture to develop the Middle East’s first waste-to-energy plant. It is hoped that a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) project will also establish the emirate as a gas-transit route at the centre of the UAE’s energy network.

It is, however, manufacturing that provides the backbone of the economy, contributing about 17 per cent of the emirate’s total GDP. Despite holding a tiny amount of the United Arab Emirates’ oil reserves, Sharjah has attracted one third of the UAE’s industrial activity by developing crucial infrastructure, including three deep-water ports that lie both on the Arabian Gulf to the west and the Gulf of Oman to the east.

Abdalla Sultan Al Owais, chairman of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said: “The emirate works to develop the industrial areas with

permanent equipment to accommodate the increasing number of companies and factories, as well as providing specialised areas with modern infrastructure and high-quality service facilities, connected to a modern road network leading to all air, land and sea ports in the country.” Much of this economic activity is carried out by some 55,000 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), attracted to Sharjah by what one of its business leaders described as “an equal opportunity to succeed”.

Badr Jafar, the chief executive of Crescent Enterprises – which operates across several sectors, including ports, business aviation, power and engineering, and healthcare – noted how some of the region’s governments inadvertently compete with private-sector companies. “Sharjah has always encouraged a level playing field, with the government being focused on the business of governance and developing a conducive regulatory and policy framework.”

Mr Jafar, however, warned against complacency. “Even as we witness the rapid proliferation of SMEs and start-ups, in real terms we still fall behind in aspects such as internationalisation, start-up skills and process innovation in the region.”

There are moves to address these challenges. For example, Mr Owais highlighted the business incubators set up by the Sharjah Chamber “to provide a suitable environment for small projects, increasing their chances of success in their initial stages of difficulty, transforming the research and feasibility studies proposed by participants into projects and products that can be marketed, as well as supporting the skills and creativity of the new entrepreneurs”.

cohort included a platform that allows construction companies to manage tenders and gather intelligence, and a wealth-management platform for migrants.

Ms Midfa’s vision is for Sharjah to build links to superhubs such as Silicon Valley as well as centres in London, Singapore and Malaysia. “We want to be a globally connected ecosystem that fosters creativity and innovation,” she says. “The types of start-ups we are looking to build are those that will not only contribute to Sharjah but to the UAE’s economic prosperity by creating jobs.”

Meanwhile, shjSEEN runs an incubator programme called The (W)hole that helps establish selected start-ups’ operations. Abdalla Sultan Al-Owais, the Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s chairman, says: “The project aims to provide a suitable environment for small projects, protecting them, and increasing their chances of success in their initial stages of difficulty.”

Meanwhile, CE-Creates, an incubator for start-ups that generate sustainable social impact, has already launched two businesses. “We place a great deal of importance on the social purpose behind each business, regardless of the sector it operates in,” says Badr Jafar, CEO of Crescent Enterprises, the business behind CE-Creates.

Dragon’s Den, Sharjah-style: a budding businesswoman pitches her idea to the Sharjah Entrepreneurship Center

Josephine Moulds explains how Sharjah, already one of the most diversified economies in the region, is planning for the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’

AN EQUAL CHANCE OF SUCCESS FOR ALL Turning Sharjah

into a global innovation hub. By Virginia Matthews

‘The next Silicon Valley’

While it may have gracious palm trees in place of Oxford’s dreaming spires,

when it comes to incubating world-class research knowledge in areas such as drones or robotics, the American University of Sharjah (AUS) is aiming equally high.

Inspired by other successful models – such as Stanford University’s close proximity to Silicon Valley and the research clusters found close to Oxford and Cambridge – the university is harnessing the talents of its 47,000 students and 2,000 PhD researchers as Sharjah positions itself as an innovation hub.

Backed by £363 million of government funding over five years, the first phase of the Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park is due to go live next year. It is one of a number of major R&D initiatives being spearheaded by the university’s commercial arm, AUS Enterprises.

“It is possible that the park could transform Sharjah into a new Silicon Valley,” says Hussain Al-Mahmoudi, CEO of AUS Enterprises (AUSE).

Last year, AUSE won plaudits for its role in the launch, in India, of the UAE’s first nanosatellite, Nayif-1, in collaboration with the Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre.

Closer to home, students and faculty members from AUS recently won two top awards on concepts they want to turn into real-time innovations. The winning “Robotics for Good” project deployed navigation and a leak-detection algorithm to help a pipeline-inspection robot locate and detect defects, a breakthrough that will be of huge benefit to the oil industry.

At the heart of the winning submission in the Drones for Good Award is a “smart” ring, which uses GPS positioning to fly to drowning victims in an emergency and includes waterproof cameras to provide live feeds.

A total of 20 projects were shortlisted for the two awards last year, with finalists drawn from 1,017 entries and 165 countries.

GDP GROWTH2%

The amount that Sharjah’s GDP is expected to grow from 2018 to 2021, according to the ratings agency S&P

The Central Souk, above; a textile trader in the souk, below

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Anyone looking for the industrialist who could be said to personify the vibrancy of Sharjah’s business environment, would find it difficult to see beyond Badr Jafar,

the 38-year-old CEO of Crescent Enterprises. Operating in nine industry sectors across

more than 20 countries with a 6,000-plus workforce, the two wings of the group – the sister company of Crescent Enterprises is Crescent Petroleum, the oil and gas producer – combine to form what Mr Jafar proudly describes as a “homegrown success story”.

Crescent has been based in Sharjah for 42 years. Its mission is driven by a determination to develop, innovate and vary its business reach. Mr Jafar speaks of thriving on diversity as he says he simply cannot envisage a world where he would “wake up doing the same thing each day”. Thoughts and

words have turned into action: the group’s activities have extended to sectors ranging from aviation, ports and shipping to healthcare and private equity.

His philosophy mirrors that of an emirate that sees its innovative economy as the most diversified within the Gulf Cooperation Council. It is helped by what he calls the “melting pot of human capital”, a formidable resource of talent generated by the University City of Sharjah, where the government has committed an extra £363 million over five years to establish the American University of Sharjah as the region’s premier research institute.

Mr Jafar’s energy and drive was recognised by the Dubai-based Arabian Business magazine in 2016 when he figured among the top 25 Arab businessmen under the age of 40. The range of his activities is extensive, stretching from high-profile business to social activism. Mr Jafar is

How does Sharjah manage to punch above its weight when capturing foreign

direct investment from other hungry economies?

The answer, according to Marwan bin Jassim Al-Sarkal, CEO of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), is simple: low costs, no hidden fees, and a government that listens to their needs.

“As far as Sharjah is concerned, Shurooq is 100 per cent committed to not only finding appropriate investment opportunities, but ensuring business is conducted with minimum effort and maximum efficiency,” he says.

This has already led to tangible rewards. Last year, foreign direct investment (FDI) exceeded £195 million, according to estimates from Invest in Sharjah, the emirate’s FDI office that operates under the Shurooq umbrella.

This looks to be an even better year. In January, Eagle Hills, an Abu Dhabi-based private real-estate development company, unveiled a joint venture with Shurooq worth about £526 million.

And, in December, Moody’s, the ratings agency, cited government initiatives encouraging FDI as a reason to maintain Sharjah’s A3 rating.

The Eagle Hills investment will help Sharjah’s efforts to target four key sectors: tourism and leisure, transport and logistics, healthcare, and the environment.

While tourism is a long-standing industry, investment in healthcare is also substantial, and education has always been a major priority for the emirate, following its philosophy of investing in the future through young people.

As both a national and regional transport and logistics hub, Sharjah benefits from natural advantages: the emirate is home to three deep-water ports, with numerous third-

party logistics providers operating in Sharjah.

All of which is simply building on the emirate’s success in attracting more than 13,000 companies to its free-trade zones.

“Sharjah is already perceived as a vibrant, progressive, business-friendly community with enormous potential for growth and investment,” says Mr Al-Sarkal. “As the emirate’s economy has expanded exponentially over recent years, there is global realisation that Sharjah has not only attempted to attract foreign investment, it has made enormous inroads worldwide.” Phil Thornton

‘Minimum effort, maximum efficiency’: a global business hub

He cannot envisage a world where he had to ‘wake up each day and do the same thing’

a firm advocate of “business with soul”, seeing no clash between profit and purpose.

He is an unashamed polymath, but may have raised some eyebrows by choosing, of all fields, fashion after earning a master’s degree in engineering and additional studies in astrophysics from Cambridge.

His academic grounding prepared him for the prominent role he would later take in the family’s oil and gas empire. Instead, he initially engrossed himself in the world of style, specialising in the design, production and distribution of neckwear. “I felt there wasn’t enough fashion around the neck,” he says. “I saw a strategic niche.”

At this year’s World Economic Forum summit in Davos, he joined the American musician, producer and actor will.i.am to debate a subject that has long been close to his heart, the state of start-ups.

Among other pursuits, he has collaborated with Quincy Jones, an American veteran of music and cinema, in founding the Global Gumbo Group, a cross-cultural music and entertainment company. And, in 2010 at the United Nations, he launched the Pearl Initiative, an attempt led by the private sector to promote corporate governance, accountability and transparency. Somehow, he also finds time to champion the educational development of Arab youth.

Born and brought up in Sharjah, Mr Jafar has Iraqi roots as the son of Crescent’s creator, Hamid Jafar, and grandson of Dhiya Jafar, who served as Iraq’s development minister. Before Cambridge, he spent his later school years at England’s most famous public school, Eton College.

After his dalliance in fashion, Mr Jafar worked with his brother, Majid, in Crescent Petroleum, established when their father bought out the concessions of the US company Buttes Gas and Oil more than 45 year ago. Cresecent Petroleum has grown into one the largest and oldest private companies in the emirate.

The man who cannot spend a day doing the same thing as the day before clearly has other projects in the pipeline. Where they will take him next is anyone’s guess.

No regular businessmanColin Randall profiles Crescent Enterprises and its one-of-a-kind CEO, Badr Jafar

Badr Jafar: from academia to fashion to polymath and advocate of ‘business with soul’

Investing in young people

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Sharjah has long been the UAE’s industrial heart, with the emirate historically contributing a third of

the UAE’s manufacturing output. Many of these industrial companies have made the Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF Zone) their home.

SAIF was established in 1995 and has attracted more than 7,600 companies. They include electrical appliance manufacturer Kingston Holdings, the largest investor in the tax-free zone, and other well-known names such as Atkins. Dunlop Aircraft Tyres is one of the many aviation-focused companies that benefit from the zone’s location, right next to the emirate’s fast-growing international air hub.

“Strategic location, an environment that facilitates seamless operations, total ownership, tax and duty exemptions and full repatriation of capital and profits, with a combination of world-class infrastructure, value-driven services and attractive incentives has ranked SAIF Zone as a premier business hub and investment destination,” says Sheikh Khaled bin

Why the Hamriyah Free Zone is a magnet for hassle-free international business. By Mark Frary

The trading coast with the mostare also providing different electrical loads, depending on the sector’s requirements, of 50, 100 and 150kW,” says Saud Salim Al-Mazrouei, director of the HFZA.

In 2017, the Hamriyah zone added a new business cluster to its existing “magnificent seven” of oil and gas, petrochemicals, steel, construction, timber land, maritime and perfume. Launched at Gulfood 2017, Sharjah Food Park, aimed at food and related industries, will offer a planned 11 million square metres of warehouses, offices and accommodation.

In November, Al Islami Foods opened a new 10,000 square metre factory in the park to expand its frozen and speciality food product range and carry out franchised meat processing for international brands. Arab & India Spices, the largest spice processor in the UAE, has also taken a 20,000 square metre space within the free zone.

Others are investing in the food park, too. “The Gum Arabic Gulf Factory is the first Arabic gum unit actually in the Gulf,” says Mr Al-Mazrouei.

The final part of Hamriyah’s location appeal is its road infrastructure. A 10-mile road network opened up during phase two of the development and another major infrastructure project was completed in July.

“We just finished the new highway route that will connect the free zone to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road,” [UAE’s arterial highway] says Mr Al-Mazrouei. “Instead of going through the city they can use this highway to connect directly to any emirate in the UAE.”

Abdullah bin Sultan Al-Qasimi, the chairman of the SAIF Zone.

It is now becoming even easier to access the zone’s services.

Saud Salim Al-Mazrouei, the SAIF Zone’s director, says: “One of the key incentives we were working on in 2017 was to create an online platform for all

the services within the zone.” This gives access to 250 services for starting or running a business. A new upgraded app is also being developed.

“We’re linking with other government agencies to connect different services. We’re working with the Chamber

of Commerce, the municipality and customs to cut down processing time,” Mr Al-Mazrouei adds.

A new hub, including 120 warehouses, is also being created that will appeal to tenants who need storage, logistics, trading, packaging, assembly and manufacturing facilities.

Sharjah’s transportation is improving fast. The airport enjoyed a record-breaking 2017 in terms of aircraft movements and is due to almost double passenger capacity to 20 million by 2027. The SAIF Zone is also well-linked to Sharjah’s growing port infrastructure.

One of the main messages to the companies at this May’s Foreign Direct Investment Expo in London, which SAIF Zone is attending, will be that integration is key to its success.

“We work hard to make sure that these clusters are actually active and that they contribute added value to our clients,” says Mr Al-Mazrouei. “And the closer their supply chain is, that’s an added incentive, whether through better time- or risk-management or cost savings.” MF

The Sharjah Airport International Free Zone is a buzzing trade centre that has no plans to come down to earth any time soon

THIS BUSINESS HUB HAS LIFT OFF

‘A combination of infrastructure, services and incentives make the zone an investment destination’

COUNTRIES157

Number of international destinations behind the 6,500 businesses that have

set up in the Hamriyah Free Zone

We live in an increasingly global world in which an absence of red tape and a favourable tax environment are essential for companies looking for a

business hub. It is attractions such as these that have lured some 6,500 businesses from 157 countries to set up operations in Sharjah’s Hamriyah Free Zone.

This is no desert mirage. Companies based in Hamriyah enjoy substantial benefits that are not available to companies established outside such tax-free zones. They are exempt from import and export taxes and commercial levies. They can also be 100 per cent foreign owned and may repatriate 100 per cent of capital and profits.

It is also the only free trade zone in the Middle East where companies can obtain a business licence in less than one hour, according to Sheikh Khaled bin Abdullah bin Sultan Al-Qasimi, chairman of the Hamriyah Free Zone Authority (HFZA)

Yet it is not just a favourable business environment – it is quite literally a port of call, too. This is because the free zone finds itself located next door to Hamriyah’s 14-metre deep-water port on the Arabian Gulf coast. It is connected via what is known as the “Land Bridge” to Port Khalid in the city centre and Sharjah’s major container port at Khor Fakkan on Sharjah’s Gulf of Oman east coast. Khor Fakkan is currently being upgraded to accept the world’s biggest container ships.

Sheikh Khaled says that the HFZA is currently doing even more to make Hamriyah the first choice for businesses looking to take advantage of this location.

“We have introduced competitive products and value-added services, simplified business processes, introduced customer-friendly service delivery mechanisms and upgraded our infrastructure and facilities,” he says.

Hamriyah looks after its tenants well, no matter what their size. In fDi Magazine’s Global Free Zones of the Year awards in 2017 it was recognised for its work both with large tenants and also SMEs, who benefit from discounted rents.

A new district in the zone offers warehouses from 200 to 600 square metres – ideal for small industrial companies. “We

Above: Hamriyah Free Zone is located next to a 14-metre deep-water port. Below: the zone is a hub for heavy industry and last year added a food park

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Sustainability, affordability and walkability might not be words immediately associated with property in the UAE, but the designers of Aljada, Sharjah’s largest-ever real-estate development,

have ambitious plans to deliver all three.Due for completion in 2025, the £4.7 billion

($6.5 billion) Aljada project will create a whole new city: 10,000 residential units, including a mix of apartments, townhouses and villas, as well as commercial, retail, leisure and entertainment facilities. And while Aljada mirrors the large communities more common in Dubai than in Sharjah, the “lifestyle property” developer Arada intends for it to have a very different feel.

Not least, explains its CEO Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, this will be a community in which people leave their cars at home. “The idea is that when you’re in the development you don’t need to drive,” he says. “Our consultant has studied the distance someone can walk in the summer heat and within that distance you will have everything you need as a resident, including a shop and a school, as well as shaded resting areas; we’re also going to have a free electric bus service.”

Building on these pedestrian-friendly plans, the design of Aljada features courtyards sheltered from the sun and alleyways that connect through the development to channel the cooling breeze. This is part of a broader sustainability strategy, with plans for solar-powered heating, electric-car charging and recycled water for irrigation.

Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al-Qasimi, the chairman of Arada, describes the unique

urban project as a “game-changer, not just for Sharjah, but for the UAE as a whole”.

Built around a central hub that will feature a discovery centre for kids and an adventure park, Sheikh Sultan expects Aljada (artist’s model, above) to attract visitors from overseas as well as those who already live in Sharjah. “We want to change the real-estate market, addressing all the challenges that you find in Sharjah, in a bustling, vibrant, well-populated community,” he explains.

The evidence from the small number of similar developments in Sharjah is that demand is strong for this kind of living. The Tilal City project, already taking shape near Sharjah University, has proved hugely popular with buyers and will eventually be home to 65,000 people. The smaller Al Zahia development is another mixed-use community where demand is buoyant.

It helps that property in such developments is priced more attractively than in comparable projects in Dubai. Khalifa Al-Shaibani, director general of Tilal Properties, the developer behind the Tilal City project, explains that real estate in the emirate is affordable. “Rates in the market are steady; it isn’t overpriced,” says Mr Al-Shaibani, who also serves on the board of Arada. “What’s coming up in the market is very promising and attractive.”

Arada itself takes affordability very seriously indeed, with plans for residential designs that keep the cost of units down. Still, demand is likely to be high, particularly since changes in the law in Sharjah in 2014 now allow foreign investors, including Britons, to buy property in the emirate.

Sharjah’s reputation as the UAE’s most diversified economy looks set for a further fillip from three real-estate projects (worth

£526 million) that will deliver a ground-breaking combination of residential property, high-end retail outlets and luxury leisure and hospitality facilities. These Dubai-style developments are all due for completion within the next two years and promise to transform Sharjah.

“Maryam Island, Kalba Waterfront and Palace Al Khan are part of our strategic diversification of the economy and underline our focus on developing the real-estate sector,” explains Sheikha Bodour bint Sultan Al-Qasimi, chair of Eagle Hills Sharjah

Development, which is leading the project alongside the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq).

“Sharjah is not simply embarking on three independent projects,” she adds. “Rather, it is appealing to an even more diverse audience of potential local, regional and international residents and investors, promoting the emirate as a highly cosmopolitan city and creating a new brand which highlights sophistication, convenience, wellbeing and Sharjah’s unrivalled cultural past, present and future.”

In the first six months of 2017, Sharjah registered a 46 per cent increase in the number of real-estate transactions. Marwan bin Jassim Al-Sarkal, CEO of Shurooq, says the new projects will provide a further “massive boost to the emirate’s ever-growing property sector, offering exciting – and lucrative – opportunities for the housing, hospitality, retail and lifestyle sectors”.

Each of the three developments will deliver something different. Maryam Island will be home to 1,890 luxury apartments and villas, as well as four- and five-star hotels with restaurants and retail outlets spread along the waterfront, while Kalba Waterfront is a master-planned retail development with ambitions to attract international fashion brands as well as supermarkets and a family entertainment centre.

Completing the trio, Palace Al Khan (artist’s rendering, above) will be the first waterfront resort in Sharjah City. Set on the site of an important pearling village in Sharjah’s history, it intends to attract international visitors with a combination of luxury and heritage appeal.

“Our projects combine Sharjah’s history and heritage with the modern vision we have for the future of the emirate,” says Mohamed Alabbar, vice chairman of Eagle Hills Sharjah Development and chairman of Eagle Hills itself. As the developer behind Dubai’s famous Burj Khalifa, Mr Alabbar understands well the challenges and opportunities of real-estate projects in the UAE, but he sees Sharjah as offering a new type of appeal.

“Dubai and Abu Dhabi have established the UAE as a top tourist destination, and we are now seeing visitors branching out to discover what else the nation has to offer,” he points out. “Sharjah has always been considered the cultural capital of the UAE and this appeals to today’s adventurous tourists and wanderlusters, who want to experience real culture and discover hidden gems.”

The Palace Al Khan development will meet that demand, Mr Alabbar says, while Maryam Island will help satisfy the growing need for residential property in Sharjah’s expanding economy. Kalba Waterfront, meanwhile, will help Sharjah expand its retail sector.

It’s a powerful mix, and, with all three projects underway, Sharjah is increasingly well-placed to emerge from the shadows of its neighbours. But, in doing so, it is determined to balance the needs of the local economy with those of tourists and international investors. DP

David Prosser scans the plans for the game-changing urban project currently under development in Sharjah

If you build it… Community living in the 21st century

A trio of real-estate projects are set to revolutionise life for those living, working and shopping in the emirate

TRANSFORMING SHARJAH TO THE POWER OF THREE

‘These projects all highlight Sharjah’s unrivalled cultural past, present and future’

Palace Al Khan will be the first

waterfront resort in Sharjah City

10 Business Business 11

Abu Dhabi’s two largest banks completed a $29 billion (about £21 billion)

“merger of equals” to form FAB (First Abu Dhabi Bank) in April of last year. It shone a spotlight on finance in the UAE and one of the areas this has drawn attention to is Islamic banking.

The Sharjah Islamic Bank (SIB) is a well-known name in this sector. In 2002, it was the first conventional bank in the world to convert to Islamic banking. Back then, Islamic finance was still a fairly niche area and, because SIB had experience as a conventional bank, it could bring innovative new products

and services to the market. Since then it has been one of drivers behind the global growth of Islamic finance.

Earlier this year, the bank issued a AED266.8 million (£52 million) Sukuk (Islamic bond) which was converted into non-tradable shares in the name of Sharjah Social Security Fund (SSSF). The strategy behind this, says SIB’s deputy CEO, Ahmed Saad Ibrahim (left), is partly to strengthen the SIB’s capital adequacy and is partly in line with the bank’s position on corporate social responsibility.

Mr Ibrahim says that the growth potential for Islamic

banking remains significant. Demand, he notes, has been growing faster than the demand for conventional banking for decades and Islamic banks demonstrated their resilience during the financial crisis.

SIB is also a keen supporter of the Sharjah start-up scene. Recently, it signed a memorandum of understanding with the government to empower and assist SMEs. The bank, says Mr Ibrahim, is keen to support local entrepreneurs who are both the bedrock and the future of the emirate’s economy. “We have seen some start-ups grow into giant firms,” he says.

SIB reported healthy first-half results last year and is “projecting a high single-digit growth in the first half of 2018 or a low two-digits growth”.

Meanwhile, early signs indicate that the “merger of equals” has been a success. “Consolidation of banks is always healthy and increases capital efficiency and results in lower operating expenses,” says Mr Ibrahim. “The merger of National Bank of Abu Dhabi and First Gulf Bank will create a bigger consolidated entity and will strengthen the bank’s ability to compete not only regionally but also globally.” RHYMER RIGBY

S harjah aims to be in the vanguard of the “Fourth Industrial Revolution”, which will see artificial intelligence, nano- and bio-tech, virtual reality and robotics reorder how we work,

play and consume. With the emirate’s ambitions showing no bounds, Sharjah is keenly aware that the right blend of education and entrepreneurship will make it ideally placed to drive private-sector growth and diversify the economy further.

Central to this approach is a number of specialised free zones, focusing on technology and innovation, publishing, healthcare and media. For companies looking to invest in the region, they offer the benefits of 100 per cent foreign ownership, exemption from taxes and the ability to repatriate capital and profits freely, advantages that are not available outside the zones.

Healthcare will be an important staging post. The development of Sharjah Healthcare City (SHCC), a planned 2.5 million square metre zone, is well underway.

The emirate’s domestic healthcare market is growing sharply on the back of a growing population. Given its burgeoning reputation for healthcare, the UAE is set to become the

world’s leading destination for medical tourism by 2021, according to the UAE’s Ministry of Health and Prevention.

“SHCC is being developed under a vision where we can attract private investments from across the globe into this ever-growing sector… With wider air connectivity, we are confident that Sharjah will become the MENA [Middle East and North Africa] region’s preferred health tourism destination,” says Abdulla Ali Al-Mahyan, chairman of the Sharjah Health Authority and SHCC.

Mr Al-Mahyan sees strong opportunities for investors in new specialised surgery, cancer, rehab and cardiac care centres at the SHCC. A 100-bed general hospital is set to be built in the city.

Sharjah Media City, or Shams, has attracted more than 2,000 companies covering the gamut from content creation and graphics to technology and photography.

Its chairman, Dr Khalid Omar Al-Midfa, sees Shams as more than just another free zone. “We can see the businesses that are based on platforms are the ones that are currently capturing the attention… the likes of Amazon which has acquired souq.com. So we came up with the idea of creating Sharjah Media City and calling it a ‘city as a platform’.”

Shams will therefore offer everything that a media company needs as well as the opportunity for open collaboration.

In October, Sharjah Publishing City (SPC), the world’s first free zone dedicated to the publishing and printing sector, was inaugurated. The timing was perfect: Sharjah had just been named as Unesco’s World Book Capital for 2019, capitalising

Diversification is the key to economic successBusinesses looking to invest in the region should look no further than the free zones for publishing, media, healthcare and tech, says Mark Frary

on the emirate’s reputation as a hub for education, culture and literature.

SPC includes more than 40,000 square metres of offices and associated buildings and a further 6,000 square metres is available for investors to build their own projects. The Arab Writers Union has announced a new headquarters at SPC.

Hussain Al-Mahmoudi, CEO of AUS Enterprises, the American University of Sharjah’s commercial arm, says the new Sharjah Research Technology and Innovation Park (SRTIP), could become the Middle East’s answer to Silicon Valley.

The Research Technology and Innovation Park is due to open in 2019 and will accommodate up to 200 companies, with a focus on water technologies, renewable energy, digitalisation, environmental technology, transportation and logistics, and architecture and industrial-design technologies.

“The vision is to transform Sharjah’s economy into more of a knowledge economy, and this is happening through transforming the universities in Sharjah from universities that only teach into research and development-based universities.”

By the year 2021 the UAE is set to become the world’s leading region for healthcare tourism

A driving force behind the global growth of Islamic finance

Sharjah Media City, top; the Research Technology and Innovation Park opens in 2019

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How to resolve Sharjah’s supply/demand gas gap. By Nigel Kendall

Bringing power to the people

Although the UAE has the world’s seventh-largest reserves of natural gas,

domestic demand can sometimes exceed supply. This is particularly true in Sharjah, where the lack of a long-term liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply agreement meant that gas supplies were not guaranteed and were often charged at a premium: in 2008, Sharjah was forced to burn diesel at $157 a barrel, when gas supplies failed.

In October 2016, Sharjah National Oil Corporation (SNOC) signed a memorandum of understanding with Uniper to implement an LNG import and regasification project. This was followed, in May 2017, by the signing of a gas-sales agreement with Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority (SEWA).

First gas deliveries are expected in 2020. The purpose of this project is to resolve the supply/demand gap for Sharjah and the northern Emirates, with enough spare capacity for industrial expansion.

“This project solves the chronic shortage of gas in Sharjah and the northern emirates,” says Hatem Al-Mosa, the CEO of SNOC. “Currently, Sharjah faces two key challenges: first, is existing bottlenecks in its pipeline network; second, is gas mobility – bringing in piped gas from north to south.

“The Sharjah LNG project eliminates both of these limitations by connecting the existing infrastructure to an independent entry point [a Floating Storage Regasification Unit will be moored inside the Hamriyah Port], allowing one billion cubic feet of gas per day to enter the emirate through a 48in pipeline to the SNOC’s Sajaa gas complex. The gas complex is the pipeline hub of all of the gas pipelines in the northern emirates.

“Should there be a need, we can forward or reverse the flow energy around the emirates, making this strategic project key for gas security for all of the UAE. There is no other point in the UAE with similar capabilities to deliver gas with such flexibility.”

Already ahead of its neighbours, Sharjah plans to make itself an environmental guiding light for the Middle East and the world. Rhymer Rigby reports

H ow does a country that is defined by its reliance on fossil fuels consign waste to the dustbin of history? The UAE as a whole has one of the highest

generators of waste-per-capita in the world, but Sharjah-based company Bee’ah is leading from the front in a bid to divert 100 per cent of refuse away from landfill.

For more than 10 years it has been working to green the desert when it comes to rubbish. Though the business of disposal may feel a touch prosaic, Bee’ah’s environmentally-conscious approach is a reflection of the emirate’s innovative and forward-looking outlook.

Currently, Sharjah diverts 76 per cent of its waste away from landfill – but it is well ahead of the UAE as a whole which wants to hit a 75 per cent figure by 2021. Bee’ah and Abu Dhabi’s Masdar are now building the Middle East’s first waste-to-energy plant which will drive Sharjah closer to its 100 per cent goal.

The numbers are eye-catching, and so too is the company’s new HQ, a stupendous

Zaha Hadid Architects-designed temple to sustainability which looks like a spaceship in the desert. Naturally, it will be 100 per cent solar-powered.

Bee’ah is also repositioning itself to look holistically at environmental management as the world becomes ever-more digitised. It is reacting to the changing world with a business called Evoteq, a new company under the same umbrella. Its remit will take in areas such as education, healthcare and logistics and will employ technological solutions to address the complex issues faced by the region.

The new company’s first offering will be called Smart Track – and will tackle counterfeiting within the pharmaceutical industry. Powered by SAP technology, it will use live-tracking and a secure database to ensure product authenticity right across the supply chain.

Greening the desert – a waste-free future

“Evoteq’s innovations will enable Bee’ah to achieve its

overarching goal of improving the standard of living in the

UAE,” says Khaled Al-Huraimel, Bee’ah’s CEO.

This is not the only green initiative Bee’ah is involved with. It is using cryogenic (freezing) technology to

turn 9,000 old tyres a day into crumb rubber. “We

produce four different sizes of crumb rubber which are used

for running tracks, playgrounds, paths, stadium play areas and miniature

golf,” says Mr Al-Huraimel. A related process is being used to turn construction waste into new building materials.

The company is working on a number of other cutting-edge projects too. It has partnered with Tesla to become the first business in the Middle East to use battery-powered trucks. Coupled with the region’s incredible capacity to produce solar power, these could be zero emission vehicles in the truest sense.

It is also on a mission to persuade Emiratis to recycle. One of the more eye-catching innovations here is a “reverse vending machine” – a device that you put used cans and bottles into for recycling.

The Sharjah Multi-Fuel Waste-to-Energy facility, meanwhile, will be able to process 300,000 tonnes of waste a year and will produce 30MW of electricity.

“This is waste that would otherwise have been buried in landfill sites,” explains Mr Al-Huraimel. “We intend to set an example for how a country that has traditionally been heavily reliant on fossil fuels can embrace change and become a leader in green technology.”

OF WASTE 76%

The current amount that Sharjah manages to divert from landfill. It is

aiming for 100 per cent in the near future

Why this year’s International Government Communication Forum will focus its attention on the digital future. Virginia Matthews reports

MATCHING REAL AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

T he way we converse and speak with each other has been utterly transformed by the digital age. With further advances such as artificial intelligence (AI) and

virtual reality (VR) on the horizon, how will society and governments adapt in the world of communications? In this sense, Sharjah’s 7th International Government Communication Forum (IGCF) comes at an opportune time.

Sir Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the world wide web, and President Trump’s former press secretary Sean Spicer are among 40 heavyweight speakers drawn from politics, media and entrepreneurship who will point at a roadmap for the future.

Showcasing brand new local, regional and international media initiatives under the theme “Digital Millennium… Where To?”, female leadership, the role of open data and AI will be discussed in the age of 24-hour connectivity and services delivered across apps and social-media platforms.

With Generation Z, the “digital natives” who will make up the majority of the world’s workforce by 2020, already redefining the communications landscape, the way governments speak to young people will be high on the agenda at IGCF this year.

IBM’s self-taught AI child prodigy Tanmay Bakshi will lead one of six

interactive addresses, starting on day one of the event with a session devoted to the challenges and opportunities of robotisation for government media strategies.

Another new feature – four brainstorming events specifically designed to engage the emirate’s large population of children and young people in public affairs – will help reinforce the emirate’s desire to harness the IT skills of the next generation.

Launched in 2012 as a focus for better government communication both in the UAE and throughout the Arab world, the IGCF – taking place at Sharjah’s Expo Centre on March 28 and 29 – is a groundbreaking initiative conceived by Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al-Qasimi, chairman of the Sharjah Media Council.

Sheikh Sultan, who also created the emirate’s landmark Xposure International Photography Festival, believes that the

Ideas exchange: last year’s International Government Communication Forum

The Zaha Hadid Architects’ design for Bee’ah’s new headquarters; a chair made from crumb rubber, inset

An LNG gas facility

International Government Communication Forum should be viewed “not as an event, but as a yearly think tank” at which “thought leadership on government communications” is debated and formulated by expert speakers and panellists from around the globe.

He notes that a number of previous IGCF recommendations, including #Digital Sharjah and the Government Media Award, have already been adopted as official policy.

Announcing the schedule for this year’s event, Sheikh Sultan says: “The Forum has become a reliable and trusted reference for an array of international communication case studies and played a fundamental role in enhancing the systems of such communication in the emirate of Sharjah and the UAE.

“Government communication is not just about communication by governments,

but is essential for developing trust between governments and people – their ultimate stakeholders.”

The forum will discuss “The Future of Government Communication in the Age of the Digital Community”. It features 18 panel discussions and seven specialist workshops curated in cooperation with the United Nations, Reuters, LinkedIn and the Arabic-language version of the Harvard Business Review.

The IGCF line-up of speakers and panellists will be headed by Ameenah Firdaus Gurib-Fakim, the first Muslim woman who served as president of Mauritius and principal guest of honour at the event.

In all, some 3,000 world leaders, government officials, businesspeople researchers and media movers and shakers are expected to attend.

How governments and society will adjust to the digital age will be high on the agenda

March 28-29International Government Communication ForumIGCF 2018 debates the impact of digitalisation on modern governments and their citizens with about 40 world-class speakers drawn from the worlds of politics, communications and entrepreneurship.sgmb.ae

March 28-June 3Beyond the LetterA celebration of the beauty and symbolism of modern Arabic calligraphy with outstanding works on loan from the Islamic Arts Museum Malaysia. A rare treat for all discerning aesthetes.

April 4-22Sharjah Heritage DaysAn important cultural event held to showcase the traditional values which have made Sharjah the jewel in the UAE crown. This year’s event has been timed to coincide with Unesco’s annual World Heritage Day (April 18).

May 3-5Sir Bu Nair Environmental Heritage FestivalLaunched in 2000 as part of a major environmental

awareness campaign, the festival ranks as one of the emirate’s most important initiatives in helping preserve delicate marine and coastal area eco-systems.

June 6-8Sharjah Calligraphy BiennialA platform for artists to delve deeper into the history of calligraphy and hone their skills. The biennial event was launched in 2002 and boasts workshops, seminars, performances and ceremonies.

June 14-August 24Sharjah Summer FestivalExplore the city’s rich culture and heritage and check out the wide array of special deals on offer all over the city. There will be an extensive choice of museums and exhibitions geared to different interests and perfect for all ages. shjsummer.ae/en

October 31-November 10Sharjah International Book FairLast year it attracted 2.38 million readers and publishers on the hunt for hidden gems and hard-to-find editions. SIBF is the most exciting literary event in the region and the

ultimate gateway to the world of books.sibf.com

November (date TBC)Xposure International Photography FestivalThe Middle East’s premier gathering for international photography professionals, enthusiasts, videographers and educators has more floor space this year, together with a new, permanent gallery space for exhibitions.

December 2UAE National DaySpectacular air shows, thrilling firework displays, military parades, concerts and traditional dancing in national dress as Sharjah turns green, red, black and white in honour of UAE independence and the birth of a nation.

December 13-15Grand Prix of Sharjah: UIM Formula 1 Powerboat ChampionshipDaring and risky for those in the water but always thrilling to watch from the sidelines, Formula 1 Powerboat Racing is widely regarded as one of the most spectacular sports in the world and the ultimate adrenaline rush.

On the agenda: upcoming events in Sharjah this year

14 Energy Coming up 15

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P ioneering Emirati artist Hassan Sharif staged Sharjah’s first contemporary art exhibition in a public place in 1985. The artist, who died in 2016, gathered a series

of everyday objects such as plastic water bottles and knotted plastic bags outside the Central Souk – and then waited for the bemused crowds to gather.

Since then, the emirate has become renowned on the international arts scene for creatively using public spaces to display contemporary art. Sharjah lays great store in ingenuity and the way it weaves art into the fabric of the emirate points strongly to the impact it can have on people’s lives.

Not to be overshadowed by its neighbours, Sharjah has carved out its own reputation as a laboratory for innovative Middle Eastern artistic talent.

Much of this can be attributed to the Sharjah Biennial, which has become a fixture on the global art circuit, and the Sharjah Art Foundation (SAF), both headed by Sheikha Hoor bint Sultan Al-Qasimi, an artist in her own right and the daughter of Sharjah’s ruler, Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al-Qasimi.

Upcoming exhibitions for the SAF are eclectic and thought-provoking. They include a retrospective of renowned Egyptian artist Anna Boghiguian, a survey of works by Emirati artist Mohammed Ahmed Ibrahim and a solo exhibition by the “father of Iraqi photography” Latif Al Ani.

Meanwhile, the Sharjah Biennial 14, “Leaving the Echo Chamber”, which opens in March 2019, will have not one but three curators – Vietnam-based Zoe Butt, Egyptian artist and writer Omar Kholeif and Claire Tancons, who is based in New Orleans

and is best known for her work exploring festivals and carnivals as acts of art-making.

A recent monumental retrospective of Hassan Sharif, one of the UAE’s most influential and revered artists, was several years in the making. Sheikha Hoor worked closely with Sharif on the project, which was a fitting tribute to the man who has shaped the way art is seen and consumed in the emirate.

For Sheikha Hoor, as for Sharif, who spent most of his life in Sharjah, art should enrich the local community as much as flourish on the international stage. “The SAF’s single, essential mission is to be an advocate, catalyst, and producer of contemporary art within Sharjah and the surrounding region,

in dialogue with the international arts community,” Sheikha Hoor

explains. As part of its goal to “enrich the community

around us”, the SAF – its collection of contemporary Arab art is regarded as one of the best in the world – has shown innovative thinking in its repurposing

of historic buildings into art spaces. This engages people

in a manner that could not be replicated in a museum.One such space is The Flying

Saucer, a modernist structure that was built in 1978 as a one-stop shop

combining a restaurant, pharmacy and patisserie. It is now used by the SAF for exhibitions, as are other rescued structures: an abandoned ice factory in Kalba, and a former cinema in Khor Fakkan.

“Our approach benefits both artists and historic preservation efforts,” declares Sheikha Hoor. “This protection of community spaces encourages an exchange of shared histories and memories and fosters an appreciation for the interactions and structures around us.”

Space: the fine art frontier

The Flying Saucer is just one unconventional exhibition space in Sharjah, says Karen Attwood

The reopening next month of Bait Al Naboodah, a traditional Emirati pearl trader’s house,

after a two-year renovation marks a key milestone for the city’s Heart of Sharjah project.

It will be followed in September by the opening of the five-star Al Bait Hotel, another significant moment in a 15-year project to revitalise the city’s most historic neighbourhood. The hotel has been built to incorporate a number of traditional homes in a neighbourhood that dates back to the time the city was the capital of the territory ruled by the Qawasim sheikhs.

Sharjah Investment and Development Authority’s (Shurooq) Heart of Sharjah project – the subject of a Unesco World Heritage bid – aims to reflect what the city was like in the 1950s, with restored souks, art galleries, museums and archaeological sites, including the preservation and restoration of historic homes.

It is about more than rebuilding walls, however, and there is a strong emphasis on the preservation of Emirati culture and customs. This can be seen in the demonstrations and workshops at the Traditional Games House, Calligraphy Museum and Emirates Handcraft Centre.

Although the project is not scheduled to be completed until 2025, it is still possible to get a flavour of how it will feel by taking a walk through the cool, white-washed alleyways from Sharjah Art Foundation eastward to Bait Al Naboodah.

Bait Al Naboodah was built in 1845 by a pearl trader called Obaid bin Eissa bin Ali Al-Shamsi, nicknamed Al Naboodah. The gemstones were the region’s main export before the fishermen were undercut by the

Japanese cultured pearl industry and the region’s attention turned to oil.

Manal Ataya, director general of Sharjah Museums Department, says: “Our in-house research team spent two years collecting data including oral-history research for the renovation of Bait Al Naboodah. We have collected photos and objects and produced a film that tells the story of the home’s owner and have dedicated various rooms and galleries to highlight aspects of his life.”

After visiting Bait Al Naboodah, be sure to pop your head into the tiny classroom of the Al Eslah School Museum, which looks exactly as it did in 1935, with its neat rows of wooden desks. Then visit the nearby Sharjah Heritage Museum before

heading, past the city walls, to the majestic Sharjah Fort (Al Hisn) which was reopened after extensive renovation in 2015, and on to the shops and cafés of the Old Souk.

Your imagination may be stretched by the noise of building sites and the sight of high-rise apartment blocks, but bear in mind the Heart of Sharjah project is in the first of four phases which will eventually return it to its former glory as a traditional Emirati neighbourhood – in stark contrast to the glass-and-steel modernity of downtown Sharjah. CAROL LEWIS

An array of cultural gems

Pearls were the region’s main export before the fishermen were undercut

From top: a 2009 work by Hassan Sharif; a Sharjah Biennial 14 curator, Claire Tancons

Clockwise from above: the Bait Al Naboodah, built by a pearl trader in 1845; the Old Souk; a calligraphy workshop; the Al Bait Hotel, which opens in September

Art, heritage and travel 17

Get set for a new wave of hotels in a range of stunning settings

Luxury rooms with a view

To complement Sharjah’s approach to its eco-tourism and heritage, the emirate is

investing in a new hotel concept set to launch this year.

The luxury Sharjah Collection hotels are being built in Sharjah’s most stunning natural locations and focus on giving visitors an authentic taste of Arabian hospitality rather than just a bed for the night.

Shurooq, the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority, wants these hotels to stand out.

“Sharjah’s eco-tourism projects are like nothing else in the region with regard to providing a haven for guests to enjoy some of the most spectacular fauna in its natural environment,” says Marwan bin Jassim Al-Sarkal, chief executive of Shurooq.

The Kingfisher Lodge in the Kalba eco-tourism project on the east coast will consist of 25 private tented lodges in the mangrove forests overlooking the sea, with private pools, a spa, yoga centre and five-star dining options.

Another offering, the Al Badayer Oasis, set against the red dunes in central Sharjah, around 40 minutes from the city, will offer visitors the chance to explore and experience desert life and activities.

Not ignoring the city, Shurooq is also converting two traditional Emirati homes into four-star bed and breakfast villas called Bait Khalid bin Ibrahim in the region’s biggest restoration and historical preservation zone. Fossil Rock Lodge, the final Shurooq project, is in the heart of the Mleiha Archaeological Site, which contains Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Age finds.

All of these forward-thinking projects are a world away from the glitz of the city and will offer luxury in keeping with, and respectful of, some the country’s most beautiful backdrops. MU

Mangroves, mountains, wadis, beaches, eco-tourism and a taste for conservation set Sharjah apart from it neighbours, says Mitya Underwood

A s you drive east out of the city of Sharjah, the dense cover of low-rise industrial warehouses falls away to be replaced by vast swathes of red sand.

Due to the way the country was mapped out in 1971, Sharjah is split between a large city on the west coast, and smaller enclaves on the east, with soaring mountains and desert between them. It is the only emirate with sandy coastlines on both the Arabian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman seas.

While recent decades have seen almost unprecedented development across the UAE, Sharjah stands alone somewhat. Its east-coast village of Kalba and the port town of Khor Fakkan were once home to tribes of fishermen and seaman. Many of the last generations of these can still be found sharing a pot of tea in small harbour cafés, usually with a game of dominoes on the go.

In contrast to the glitz and glamour of the country’s biggest cities, rural Sharjah is full of tidal creeks, sandy beaches and mangroves, all with a different feel to those on the west coast.

The east has a traditional family feel, with many Emiratis escaping the cities on weekends and public holidays to unwind. The 3km beach and corniche at Khor Fakkan is a particularly popular picnicking spot and has beautiful, clean stretches of sand with watersports and activities aplenty.

Much has been done to preserve the emirate’s heritage and, at the same time, create sustainable eco-tourism projects highlighting its natural beauty and history.

Sharjah is, arguably, home to some of the UAE’s most stunning deserts, lush wadis and jagged mountains, many of which are now easily accessible to tourists. Welcoming locals are incredibly proud of their heritage and, as such, are more than happy to talk to visitors about their country’s history.

One of the area’s most impressive nature projects is the Al Hefaiyah Mountain Conservation Centre, just 90 minutes’ drive from Sharjah City. It covers 12 sq km and houses more than 30 species of animals whose natural habitats are the surrounding Wadi Al Helo, Kalba and Khor Fakkan.

The centre educates visitors about the area’s natural heritage but also plays a significant conservation role, protecting the country’s most endangered species – such as the Arabian leopard and the Arabian wolf – which would likely otherwise die out.

Regarded as a jewel in Sharjah’s crown is the nearby Kalba eco-tourism site,

a prime spot for birdwatching, kayaking, archery and a host of other activities.

Some of the mangroves are an incredible 300 years old and provide the only known nesting sites in the country for the rare white-collared kingfisher bird. Recently, sea turtles have also returned to the site’s beaches to lay their eggs after a

Away from the cities lies a world of natural wonder

40-year absence. This is a direct result of the emirate’s efforts to protect the area.

While most of the UAE’s history is focused on pearl diving and the discovery of oil, Sharjah takes a different approach.

Its Mleiha Archaeological Centre examines more than 100,000 years of remains from the Neolithic, Iron and Bronze Ages. In just 40 minutes, tourists from Sharjah City can explore these incredible finds on family-friendly guided tours. The project is a great example of how Sharjah blends preservation with development. Guests can go dune bashing in 4x4s, take safari tours, or explore mountain-bike trails and hikes. Adventurous visitors can paraglide or paramotor down the highest Mleiha peaks.

“The powered and non-powered forms of winged transport offer amazing panoramic views of the whole area, as well as a flying experience that won’t be forgotten,” says Marwan bin Jassim Al-Sarkal, chief executive of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority.

SPECIES30

Number of types of animal that make their home in the Al Hefaiyah

Mountain Conservation Centre

Action replay: Sharjah offers a wide variety of activities on land and water

The Kalba Kingfisher Lodge

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