The Sharjah Publishing City (SPC) Free Zone has signed contracts with more than 10 Arab and international institutions and publishing houses from Algeria, Egypt, and Sweden, to open branches in the city, with the aim of expanding its business from Sharjah in the regional book market. The agreement will also help workers in the publishing and creative industries to benefit from SPC’s integrated facilities and services in printing, warehousing, shipping, distribution, logistics, and marketing.
The SPC Free Zone held a series of meetings with over 50 Arab and international publishing houses looking to transfer their business to Sharjah. During the session, they reviewed the mission and vision of SPC, the opportunities offered, promotion options, and access to new markets around the world.
This came during SPC Free Zone’s participation in the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) pavilion at the recently concluded 32nd Abu Dhabi International Book Fair. The SPC Free Zone revealed that it has more than 2000 companies from 60 countries operating within its space, including a network of publishers and suppliers, which provide opportunities for cooperation and thereby making it easier for publishers to complete their work from a single hub.
The meetings dealt with the services provided by the region in translation, distribution, and promotion of books, reviewed the options of renting warehouses at competitive prices, the shipping services it provides, and getting office spaces equipped with the latest technology.
Mansour Al Hassani, Director of Publisher Services at SBA and Acting Director of SPC Free Zone, says, “The participation of the Sharjah Publishing City Free Zone in local and international exhibitions is part of our strategy to introduce the free zone’s vision and services, facilities, opportunities, and workspaces it provides to attract more publishers and investors in the creative and knowledge sectors. It also affirms Sharjah’s position and its vital role as a global centre for supporting writers, stimulating the publishing industry, and embracing major regional and international institutions by establishing an integrated creative environment that contributes to achieving a sustainable shift in this sector and opening up opportunities and possibilities for publishers to reach a broader book market, regionally and globally.”
Since its establishment in 2017, the SPC Free Zone has been successful in hosting numerous companies and institutions in publishing, printing, and distribution in the global book industry.
