18,921 renewed licenses issued by Sharjah Economy in the first quarter

The Sharjah Economic Development Department announced that economic performance indicators achieved remarkable growth in the first quarter of 2026, during which the number of licenses issued and renewed reached 18,921 licenses, compared to 18,768 licenses in the same quarter of 2025, a growth rate of 1%.

The department explained that business license performance indicators achieved remarkable growth in the first quarter of 2026, and the number of business licenses issued reached 2,991 licenses, a growth of 36%, while the number of renewed business licenses reached 15,930 licenses in the same period last year.

Hamad Ali Abdullah Al Mahmoud, Head of the Sharjah Economic Development Department, confirmed that the indicators of business licenses registered during the first quarter of this year reflect the strength of the local economy and the continued attractiveness of Sharjah as a promising investment destination, which enhances the emirate’s sustainable growth path.

He pointed out that Sharjah is proceeding according to a clear strategy to maintain stable growth rates based on key components that include its distinguished geographical location and the continuous development in the service sectors, in addition to continuous work to develop services in line with the highest international quality standards.

The data issued indicated a significant increase in the growth rate of licenses issued according to the type of license during the first quarter of the year 2026. Commercial licenses came in the lead with a total of 1,671 licenses, followed by professional licenses with 999 licenses, then industrial licenses with 123 licenses, while Etemad licenses came fourth with a total of 123 licenses, and electronic commerce licenses came fifth with 75 licenses.

Regarding renewed licenses, commercial licenses came first with a total of 10,289 licenses, followed by professional licenses with 4,454 licenses, and industrial licenses with 867 licenses, in addition to statistics for other licenses.

In the context of the geographical distribution of licensing performance indicators in the department’s branches, business licenses issued by the department’s branch in the main center during the first quarter of this year recorded 1,510 licenses, followed by the industrial areas branch with 841 licenses, the central region branch of the department recorded 326 licenses, then the Khor Fakkan branch with 195 licenses, followed by the Kalba branch with 98 licenses, while the Dibba Al-Hisn branch recorded 21 licenses issued.

As for the geographical distribution of business licenses renewed in the same period, the department’s branch in the industrial areas recorded 7,069 licenses, followed by the main center with 6,064 licenses, the central region branch with 1,567 licenses, the Khor Fakkan branch with 636 licenses, the Kalba branch with 483 licenses, and then the department’s branch in Dibba Al-Hisn with 111 licenses.

The department communicates through all possible means with consumers in the markets of the Emirate of Sharjah to educate them and inform them of their basic rights by providing platforms, websites, and ongoing field tours.

The total number of commercial control transactions during the first quarter of this year reached 44,446 transactions, so that the department keeps pace with the growth of the emirate’s economy in 2026 and the increase in demand for business licenses in the emirate.

The total number of completed commercial protection observations reached 3,073 complaints in the first quarter of the year 2026, at a rate of 89%, and the largest share of them was regarding consumer protection observations, amounting to 2,812 complaints, followed by service agent complaints, 154 notes, while the number of commercial fraud notes reached 107 notes.

The department has intensified its activity in the recent period to monitor markets and price increases, resulting in 7 price observations, representing only 0.2% of the total observations received by the department.