IIS launches real-time mapping on foreign, domestic investment

The Sharjah FDI Office (Invest in Sharjah - IIS), operating under the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), has announced the launch of the Sharjah Investment Tracker, a plug-and-play website that publishes real time investment statistics of Sharjah and aims to map out the investment landscape in the emirate through analyzing FDI flows. Providing real-time data on both FDI and domestic investment, the investment portal will use a GIS (Geographic Information System) mapping tool to provide comprehensive site-specific data about the companies investing in the emirate.

The Sharjah Investment Tracker has been developed in partnership with Wavteq, a global FDI technology and consulting company that develops the leading databases and operating systems for economic development.

As a vital tool to analyse investment flows and trends, the Sharjah Investment Tracker has different filters that provide real time information on investment type – foreign, domestic, reinvestment, mergers and acquisitions, or new forms of investment; technology level – low, medium, or high; source country; and industry type – transportations and logistics, agriculture, education, manufacturing, information and communication technology (ICT) and more.

Updated daily, the comprehensive data service will provide a reliable project database of investments in Sharjah with advanced filtering, trends, analysis, and reporting tools.

According to Mohamed Al Musharrkh, CEO, Invest in Sharjah, “as an investment promotion agency, the launch of the Sharjah Investment Tracker serves as a valuable source of sector, market and investment intelligence which is indispensable in providing in-depth trend analysis to develop both short and long-term strategies based on real time data. Such up-to-date data will enable Invest in Sharjah to identify, promote, and prioritise target market sectors thereby empowering potential investors and key decision makers with relevant information to uncover new business opportunities in the emirate and the wider region.”

He added: “It is also a powerful tool for performance measurement, to generate new investment leads, and to set realistic investment targets for all stakeholders which can, in turn, inform investment attraction strategies.” According to the latest Invest in Sharjah report, investor confidence in Sharjah has continued its upward trend with 24 new investment projects worth $220 million in 2020.

Meanwhile, the Sharjah Finance Department (SFD) and the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), recently signed a memorandum of understanding to enhance communication and joint cooperation in a bid to support Shurooq’s financial and electronic work system.

As part of the agreement, Sharjah Finance Department will provide an electronic payment gateway (Tahseel) for Shurooq, which will contribute to enhancing its investment, commercial, and tourism role in the emirate, in line with the strategic vision of digital transformation set out by the Sharjah government.  The memorandum of understanding was signed by Waleed Al Sayegh, Director General of SFD and Marwan Bin Jassim Al Sarkal, Executive Chairman of Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), at the Sharjah Finance Department’s headquarters, in the presence of Huda Al Yasi, Director of Financial System Department at SFD and Hassan Basha, Head of Decision Support Unit at the SFD and a number of senior employees from both parties.

The agreement will see both entities exchange experiences and knowledge, in a bid to build a cooperative partnership and serve society and other institutions, whilst contributing to the development of a technical system which reduces costs associated with re-engineering processes and procedures.

Waleed Al Sayegh, Director General of SFD said, “The Memorandum of Understanding comes within the framework of developing prospects for cooperation between the Sharjah Finance Department and the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority.”

Waleed Al Sayegh added, “The platform will support financial development, staff development, and Shurooq’s advances in digital transformation while facilitating and simplifying procedures. We have made use of modern technologies and interactive training based on artificial intelligence, in order to keep pace with the modern advances of technology in Sharjah.”

Marwan Bin Jassim Al Sarkal said: “Efficient and safe financial services form the backbone of businesses and investments in every economic sector. This MoU is, therefore, timed perfectly to add to the appeal of doing business in Sharjah, and accelerate the pace of growth and diversification in the Emirate. Simultaneously, this partnership will push the Emirate’s agenda of digital transformation and the creation of a comprehensive digital ecosystem with the inclusion of a range of financial services.”

The vision of the Sharjah Finance Department is to lead the way as a global financial leader, through the development of innovative technologies. This will add to the achievement of financial stability and sustainability and the Department’s goals which lie in managing, developing, and providing cash liquidity; developing a performance budget system; implementing and effective financial policies, building a global model in public finance; enabling smart transformation; and implementing seven-star services.