The Sharjah FDI Office, (Invest in Sharjah), has reinforced its status as one of the region’s key foreign investment drivers, having been recognised once again as a top ‘Investment Project Agency’ (IPA) in one of the most important and prestigious investment industry awards worldwide.

The ‘Mac Conway’ awards, presented as part of ‘Site Selection Magazine’, reflect the perceptions of thousands of global investment consultants, corporations and FDI professionals as to how well IPAs have promoted themselves as a vital resource and a trusted partner for international investors. For the second year running, Invest in Sharjah has not only met, but exceeded those conditions and is one of only two entities in the entire Middle East and North Africa region to be recognised for its achievements in 2018.

The award’s independent points-based ranking identifies the regional economic development agencies that have been most successful in attracting capital investment projects, based on an index of data from the Conway Projects Database, which tracks global private-sector facility projects, and several other global economic data sources.

In order to satisfy each of the criteria laid down by the Mac Conway Awards, Invest in Sharjah demonstrated that it upheld the professionalism and consistency required from the leadership and staff on a daily basis.

The specific benchmarks stated that Invest in Sharjah is professionally responsive to inquiries; its staff possess the best knowledge and language diversity; it offers access to user-friendly databases of sites and incentives; information is readily available within reasonable timeframes; there is access to recent investors in the region who can vouch for the area and agency; that it has the best reputation for protecting investor confidentiality; it has an excellent reputation for after-care services; and that the website is easy to navigate, possesses a wide breadth of data and has an efficient, modern design.

Mohammed Juma’a Al Musharrkh, CEO of Invest in Sharjah, said: “The Mac Conway awards are accepted as a global endorsement of an agency’s commitment to attracting foreign investment and the dedication of its leadership in bringing about the strategies to implement its goals.

He continued: “Invest in Sharjah has been enormously proactive in introducing the emirate’s business opportunities and potential to a global audience, highlighting its position as a leader in both traditional and diverse regional industries and sectors. The response we have encountered in either receiving foreign delegations or attending overseas invitations has demonstrated beyond doubt the effectiveness of our engagement with foreign governments and private sector organisations.”

Al Musharrkh added: “Going forward, this highly respected award also adds some tangible advantage to IIS, which will be recognised for the second consecutive year as one of the top Investment Project Agencies in the world.”

Established in 2016, Invest in Sharjah is the entity responsible for intensifying Sharjah Government’s efforts to promote the emirate’s business and investment opportunities in key international markets. The office, which operates under the Sharjah Government, is a fully integrated brand that communicates key insights and latest information on investment opportunities in the emirate, carried forward and consolidated by multiple state entities.