World's First 'Publishing Free Zone' To Come Up In Sharjah, Wooes Indian Publishers

The cultural capital of the Arab world is set to be a global literary hub, as Sharjah in the UAE will get the world’s first 'publishing free zone', in the first quarter of 2017. The Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) is opening a Sharjah Publishing City (SPC) that will have built-up infrastructure, offering a slew of tax incentives for publishing companies.

Expected to be a ‘United Nations of Books’ with publishers from across the world, the SPC will provide “all that is needed for publishing industry” that is undergoing sweeping changes in the era of digitisation, its senior functionaries announced.

Poised to come up in an area of 400,000 sq m of land, the SPC is particularly keen to have Indian investors on board, SBA chairman Ahmed Al Ameri told a gala gathering in Delhi on Tuesday night.

“SharjahPublishingCity is a very significant project for us, both culturally and economically. We will pull out all stops to make sure it becomes a global hub for publishing in the future,” he told an event alongside the ongoing India International Book Fair in the capital. “We already have strong trade and bilateral linkages.”

SBA is famous for organising the annual Sharjah International Book Fair.

Mr Mohamed Noor Hersi, consultant to the SPC and an advisor to the SBA Chairman, said the Sharjah government has lined up a string of financial incentives to attract Indian publishers. These include foreign ownership, fund repatriation, zero-currency restrictions and exemption of corporate and personal income tax and exemption on import as well as export tax.

India, at present, exports $26 million worth of books and other printed materials to the Arab countries, with the United Arab Emirates claiming a 37% share of this. The UAE’s publishing market is estimated to be $233 million and expected to triple in size by 2030. The Arab World collectively imports $1 billion in books annually with the European Union currently having a 29% market-share.

The proposed free zone has a choice of furnished or unfurnished offices with long- and short-term storage facilities, licences issued in 24 hours, sponsorship and visas for all staff and zero restrictions on hiring 100% expatriate workers.

The PublishingCity will have pre-built warehouses implemented as part of a second phase scheduled for 2017. They will be available for an affordable annual rent, featuring office and storage spaces. Investors and their employees will be sponsored under the Sharjah Publishing City Authority.