Sharjah free trade zone woos Gujarat jewellery industry

Sharjah Airport International Free Zone (SAIF Zone) has drawn up plans to strengthen the presence of Indian companies in the zone.

As part of the plan, the SAIF Zone has opened a separate gems and jewellery division, with the specific aim of attracting jewellers and diamond traders from Gujarat who want to branch out into branded jewellery and are looking at the international markets.

As many as 40 blocks have already been booked and new workshops are being constructed to accommodate more companies.

"It is apparent that India is the biggest market we are targeting to set up companies in SAIF Zone. At the end of the year 2003, 48 per cent of all companies in SAIF Zone were from India. We expect a large number of Gujarat jewellers to set up shop in SAIF Zone," said His Excellency Sheikh Saqer Al Qassemi, deputy director of SAIF Zone in Ahmedabad on Friday.

He added that Sharjah is also ideal place for investors because of its strategic location. Sharjah contributes 48 per cent of United Arab Emitares' (UAE) industrial GDP. "Shahrjah can be termed as the shopping mall of the Middle East," Qassemi said.

Set up in 1995 with 55 companies, the strength of the companies in the SAI Zone has grown to 1,187 at the end of 2003 and as of today, there are 1,240 companies from 62 countries.

The share of Indian companies in the free trade zone grew from 40 per cent in 2002 to 48 per cent in 2003.

Trading activities form the major chunk of all companies that set up base in the trade zone. Some of the major Indian companies that have already set up base in SAIF Zone include Infosys, Godrej, Zee Tele, Ashok Leyland and Rasna among others.

The companies set up in the Zone can avail the benefits of 100 per cent foreign ownership, 100 per cent repatriation of capital and profits, 100 per cent exemption from corporate taxes, 100 per cent exemption from personal income tax and free transfer of funds.

SAIF Zone also provides the investors access to over two billion consumers, issues licences in less than 24 hours, on-site labour accommodation facilities, simplified customs procedures, a lease period for 25 years that can be further extended to another 25 years, the officials said.

The licence options for investors in SAIF Zone include the industrial licence for manufacturing, assembling and processing, the commercial licence for import and export merchandise and the services licence for IT services, marketing, management and business consultancy, cargo and freight forwarding among others.

"For a small or medium enterprise that is interested in trading, the fees per year for licences, other procedures and rent would be around Rs 6 lakh," said Ashok Verma, commercial director, SAIF Zone.