Shurooq set to highlight Sharjah's investment potential in China

The Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) will be participating in the 8th China Enterprises Outbound Investment Conference in Beijing this year as part of a nine-day long roadshow to China. The roadshow forms part of Shurooq's overreaching strategy to promote Sharjah's investment potential in the international arena. Shurooq, as well as the fully integrated environment and waste management company Bee'ah, will be making use of the opportunity to hold a number of B2B meetings with a range of Chinese companies and organisations active in four key investment sectors - leisure and tourism, logistics, healthcare, and environment. Shurooq's delegation will be led by Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, CEO of the Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq), who will be presenting a talk focused on Sharjah's investment potential during the conference, which will take place on the 16th and 17th of April in Beijing. Speaking about the upcoming roadshow, Marwan Al Sarkal stressed on the importance of its strong ties with China, mentioning how warmly H.H. Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, received Chinese former Premier Wen Jiabo on his visit to the UAE in 2012, and expressed that their countries' common interests were being served by their strengthened political mutual trust and deepened strategic cooperation. "In the first half of 2013 alone, combined imports and exports rose almost 14 per cent to AED 78.6bn," the Shurooq CEO remarked, "even after registering close to 40 per cent annual growth over 2012. Bilateral trade between China and Sharjah has also jumped more than 18 per cent between 2010 and 2012, from AED 3.3bn to more than AED 3.9bn. This rapidly growing relationship is further supported by the already over 4,000 companies strong Chinese business presence in the UAE. We are looking forward to further building on this already strong foundation and will be meeting with a wide range of companies and organisations in China to explore mutually beneficial avenues of cooperation." The objective of the conference is to enhance Chinese enterprises' competitiveness whilst facilitating and encouraging their outbound investment in accordance with China's Go Global Strategy. Over 1500 participants are expected to attend the event, which will include an opening ceremony, plenary session, parallel and sector-based seminars, exhibition stands and a networking dinner. The China Enterprises Outbound Investment Conference will be hosted by the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the Development Research of State Council (TBC). It is to be supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, General Administration of Customs, State Administration of Taxations, State Administration of Foreign Exchanges, State Administration of Traditional Chinese Medicine, the People's Bank of China and 23 Provincial Governments.