Sharjah’s Shurooq to invest in US, Australia, Egypt and GCC countries

The investment firm aims to invest in various sectors including health care, education, robotics, fish farming and vertical agriculture

Marwan bin Jassim Al Sarkal, Shurooq’s executive chairman. Pawan Singh / The National

Sharjah Investment and Development Authority plans to invest in international markets including Egypt and fellow GCC countries such as Saudi Arabia, Oman and Qatar, its executive chairman has said.

The authority, known as Shurooq, has also received a proposal to establish entities in Australia and the US that are similar to Sharjah Sustainable City, Marwan Al Sarkal told state news agency Wam.

Mr Al Sarkal said the vision of Shurooq was to expand its trademark globally.

Shurooq’s investment portfolio is valued at Dh12 billion ($3.26bn) distributed in the property sector, including Eagle Hills and Sharjah Sustainable City, he said.

In tourism, Shurooq’s portfolio includes The Chedi Al Bait, KingFisher Lodge in Kalba, Mysk Moon Retreat in Mleiha, Mysk Al Faya Retreat, Mysk Al Badayer Retreat, also in Faya, and four other hotels.

Shurooq is engaged in tourism, environment, transport and project management, and aims to invest in health care, education, robotics, fish farming and vertical agriculture.

It intends to support and encourage small and medium enterprises, and attract foreign investments, Mr Al Sarkal said.

Shurooq has teamed up with a Kuwaiti firm to establish the Avenues Mall and has deals with Turkish, Korean and Portuguese companies, he said.

In January 2020, Sharjah was rated among the world’s top 10 fastest-growing urban areas in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

Attracting foreign investment across sectors is a priority for the Sharjah government as it cuts its reliance on oil revenue and continues to diversify its economy.