Shurooq signs agreement with Invest HK

Dubai: Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) said on Monday it has signed an agreement with Invest Hong Kong — the department to promote foreign direct investment for the Hong Kong SAR government, aimed at increasing foreign investment and business activities in their respective regions.

The MoU (memorandum of understanding) between the two parties follows an investment tour by Shurooq to China in June last year which saw high-level meetings exploring future cooperative agreements.

The MoU is mainly aimed at “sharing experience in promoting and attracting foreign investment”, and to facilitate company referrals, thus increasing business activity in Sharjah, the UAE, and in Hong Kong, Shurooq said in a statement, adding the deal also aims to support inward investments referred by the partner agency with the set-up or expansion of their businesses.

“The UAE and Hong Kong are no strangers to each other. Trade relations between our nations have long been strong – in 2012 trade between the UAE and Hong Kong totalled in the region $27 billion, an increase of 30 per cent from 2011, and current projections place the expected trade between our countries at over $34 billion this year, making Hong Kong one of our most significant trade partners. The strength of our ties, however, lies in more than just trade figures,” Marwan Bin Jassim Al Sarkal, Chief Executive Officer of Shurooq, said in a statement.

He added that the agreement will allow opening of pathways for investors into the Arab world and Invest HK to reciprocally open doors for investors from Sharjah into Honk Kong.

Continuously exploring new ways to promote Sharjah’s investment opportunities and to strengthen Sharjah’s position as an ideal economic hub in the region, Shurooq was established in 2009 with the aim of encouraging investment by adopting best international standards in providing quality services that help attract investors from across the world.