Business Setup Services in Sharjah

Who We Are

Business Setup Worldwide is a platform to help you set up your business. Right from incorporation, registration and licensing to establishing your office space, we facilitate the formation of your company through expert counselling and incubation.

Strong commitment to high quality professionalism, comprehensive capability across varied segments of disciplines, proactive and continuous learning in ever changing global environment and ability to conceive innovative strategies and provide comprehensive support in executing such strategies distinguish Business Setup, and provide the competitive edge in ensuring growth.

Business Setup Worldwide proprietary business design techniques, combined with its specialized industry knowledge and global reach, enable companies to anticipate changes in customer priorities and the competitive environment, and then design their businesses and improve operations to seize opportunities created by those changes.

Why Does a Business Need Business Setup Services in Sharjah?

Sharjah is the third largest and third most populous city in the UAE. It is also the cultural capital of the country and is situated in the southern coast of the Persian Gulf. Because of such a strategically important positioning, Sharjah presents many diverse business opportunities for upcoming businessmen and entrepreneurs who are looking to gain a foothold in the Middle East, Africa and even Asian markets.

Sharjah is a location highly conducive to business, both in terms of costs and facilities. For instance, there are many free trade zones in Sharjah for company formation, with minimal costs. In fact, Sharjah happens to be one of the emirates where business setup can be carried out relatively inexpensively. To make full use of the resources Sharjah offers at a prospective entrepreneur’s disposal, as well as to dictate crucial business decisions like deciding the location of the company and governmental regulations, business setup services are of utmost importance for company formation in Sharjah.

How Does the Process Work?

An expatriate can choose to form a company under one of the following two categories of business in Sharjah:

• Sharjah Free Zone
• Mainland Company

Sharjah Free Zone: Free zone companies can be formed in Sharjah under any of these two zones, with a minimum capital of AED 150,000.

1. Sharjah Airport International Free Zone: Popularly known as SAIF zone, Sharjah Airport International Free Zone was set up in 1995. Such a zone is huge, and houses about 6000 companies hailing from over 90 countries. It also has a very strategic location and is situated at crossroads between major trade routes that link the east to the west. In addition to this, it is located close to the Sharjah International Airport and forms a major hub for cargo.
2. Hamriyah Free Zone: Hamriyah Free Zone was also set up in the year 1995, and is often considered one of the benchmarks of industrial development in Sharjah. This free trade zone offers geographic advantage unmatched by any other in the UAE and offers convenient access to major international markets, be it by air, land or sea. It is an investment oriented free zone and offers flexibility and dynamism. This zone is suitable for companies that come under the category of small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Mainland Company: A mainland company is one that is set up in geographical areas set aside by UAE Government authorities for commercial purposes. It consists of one of the most developed economic areas in Sharjah with regularized legal policies.

As per the mainland company incorporation law, UAE national has to mandatorily hold at least 51% of total equity in any commercial company, except in the following cases:

• Activities with 100% GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) ownership
• Businesses located in free zones
• Instances where GCC companies (wholly owned) enter into a partnership with UAE national
• Where the law requires 100% local ownership

Advantages and Disadvantages of Business Setup in Sharjah

Advantages

• Sharjah is a famous industrial hub, producing 48% of the industrial output of UAE. Sharjah ranks among the top 10 cities for conducting business in the Gulf region. Thus, a prospective businessman may find it beneficial to set up one’s company in Sharjah.
• Sharjah’s strategic geographical location (near Africa as well as Europe) makes it a suitable place for setting up a trading company. This along with UAE’s state-of-the-art infrastructure makes Sharjah a perfect location for doling out product distribution services.
• Because Sharjah is an emirate of the UAE, if one sets up a business in Sharjah, no corporate income tax, withholding tax, value added tax, import/export tax or capital gains tax is levied on them. Moreover, a person moving to Sharjah won’t be required to pay personal income tax either.
• Free zones in Sharjah have to offer sundry incentives for company formation, like
  • Exemption from taxes and foreign duties
  • 100% foreign ownership
  • Full repatriation of capital
  • Superb infrastructure
• A company incorporating in Sharjah shall benefit from generous government subsidies granted to the energy and utilities sector. As a matter of fact, the government bears 70% of the cost of electricity and water consumption
• A company in Sharjah would also profit from the 66 double tax treaties signed by the UAE with countries like India, China, Japan and Singapore, to decrease withholding taxes on payments abroad.

Disadvantages

• Setting up a limited liability company (LLC) in Sharjah calls for a minimum of 51% shareholding by UAE nationals.
• Investors carrying out company registration in Sharjah Airport Free (SAIF) Zone as a branch of a foreign company require a minimum capital of AED 150,000.
• Registering a company in Sharjah can be expensive and time-consuming. There may be a further challenge because of high government fees, incoherent and complicated UAE company laws, and inefficient bureaucracy in the city.
• Annual audited accounts for a company in Sharjah are required to be submitted to the government.

Why Us?

Setting up a business in Sharjah envisages huge profit potential, tax exemptions, world-class infrastructure, modern amenities and free trade barriers. Business Setup Worldwide helps global investors, businessmen, and corporates set up company in Sharjah while availing all the advantages that a developing economic trading hub provides. Our team is well equipped to help you manage your regulatory matters in a professional and secure manner, suiting specific business needs. Our experts take care of the entire Banking, Visa, Legal, and Licensing formalities, and allow corporates to enjoy their company formation process without worrying about the bureaucratic red tape and legal formalities.