Literature
ٍSharjah Publishing City spotlights its world-class business services at Riyadh International Book Fair 2023
As part of its strategy to attract more publishers from the Arab world and beyond
Sharjah Publishing City (SPC) Free Zone is at the Riyadh International Book Fair (RIBF 2023), boosting Saudi Arabia’s awareness about the world-class business solutions local publishing and creative industry players can leverage to expand their ventures regionally and globally.
The entity’s participation, headed by Mansour Al Hassani, Director of Publisher Services at the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) and Acting Director of SPC Free Zone, is in line with its efforts to strengthen its presence in the Arab world and attract more publishers from different Arab countries to Sharjah, enabling them to make the most of the opportunities that support their businesses and expand the range of their book distribution to new markets.
Engaging with around 1,200 publishers from 33 countries who are attending RIBF 2023, the SPC Free Zone delegation has offered a detailed overview of their state-of-the-art infrastructure and amenities, investor-friendly and strategic location connecting the East and West that come together to support both established and emerging publishers to grow and prosper sustainably.They also turned the spotlight on key business development and networking opportunities industry stakeholders can tap into at leading events hosted annually by Sharjah, including Sharjah International Book Fair, the Publishers Conference, the Sharjah International Library Conference, Sharjah Children’s Reading Festival, and others.
Mansour Al Hassani, Director of Publisher Services at the Sharjah Book Authority (SBA) and Acting Director of SPC Free Zone (SPCFZ), said: “Sharjah’s global recognition as a hub of culture, education has led to publishing businesses, including several from Saudi Arabia, choose our emirate as their operational base for regional expansion. Our free zone is home to 33 Saudi publishers, and we aspire to take these numbers further, and fully support all publishers and other businesses under our roof to grow and expand across the Middle East,
“We offer premium services that meet the needs of publishers and contribute to supporting the publishing industry. We facilitate business registration and licensing, help publishers to get their sponsorship and UAE residency visas, assist with banking requirements, and offer them an investor-first environment where they fully own their businesses as well as their profits,” he added.