Making sense of Sharjah: Hussain Al Mahmoudi

Where are the world’s largest privately owned port operator, the Middle East’s first listed airline and one of the planet’s biggest food manufacturers all based? The answer, smiles Hussain Al Mahmoudi, is Sharjah.

For Al Mahmoudi, who has the dual role of attracting foreign direct investment and representing the private sector in the UAE’s third-largest emirate via his role as director general of the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the city is an easy sell. After all, just over 62,000 private companies are already based in Sharjah – not including the free zones – a figure that is rising by around 5 percent a year.

“It’s really a remarkable number, although it doesn’t surprise me,” Al Mahmoudi says. “We are very close to Abu Dhabi in terms of numbers. So that tells you a lot about the potential prospects for businesses in Sharjah and the value proposition here.”

Sharjah’s emphasis on new business is underlined by the impressive building in which the director general is based. Located near the border with Dubai, it looks at first glance more like a royal residence than a chamber of commerce, and is soon set to become the emirate’s new financial hub.

Original article by Ed Attwood

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Making sense of Sharjah: Hussain Al Mahmoudi