Sharjah: Over 17,000 business licences issued and renewed in Q1 2022

The Sharjah Economic Development Department (SEDD) has said that the total number of licences issued and renewed in Q1 2022 reached 17,059.

It marks a growth rate of 7 per cent over, or 1,139 licences, over the same period in 2021.

In Q1 2022, the number of licences issued reach 1979, while the number of renewed licences reached 15,080.

The growth rates of industrial licences issued increased by 20 per cent, while the professional licences issued grew by 18 per cent during the first quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021.

On the other hand, the total number of renewed licences (commercial, professional, industrial, Eitimad, and e-commerce) increased in the first quarter of this year by 8 per cent, 5 per cent, 13 per cent, 28 per cent, and 525 per cent respectively, compared to the first quarter of 2021, according to news agency WAM.

Salim Ahmed Al Suwaidi, Deputy Director of Commercial Control and Protection Department in SEDD, confirmed that the department carried out 41,641 inspection campaigns on various economic establishments in the emirate.

The SEDD handled 2,970 complaints received during the first quarter of this year. The complaints it received were distributed with consumer protection complaints forming the largest share with 2,463 complaints, followed by complaints of commercial fraud at 352, and 155 service agent complaints.

Fahad Al Khamiri, director of Registration and Licensing Department at the SEDD, said that the increase in the business licences are in line with the general growth in GDP in Sharjah. He added that the SEDD is working to simplify services and procedures to facilitate business registration procedures, issue business licences, and providing greater flexibility for investors to help them establish their businesses quicker.

The Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SCCI) said earlier this month that an estimated 1,996 new companies joining and 15,572 memberships were renewed in the first quarter of this year, the highest since 2018. The SCCI’s total number of registered members reached 17,568, an increase of 8 per cent over the year 2021.

Read: Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry reports rise in new companies in Q1 2022