The Department of Economic Development in Sharjah announced that economic performance indicators achieved significant growth in the first quarter of 2026. During this period, the number of new and renewed licenses reached 18,921, compared to 18,768 in the same quarter of 2025, marking a growth rate of 1%. The department clarified that business license indicators also showed remarkable growth, with 2,991 new business licenses issued in Q1 2026, a 36% increase, while the number of renewed business licenses reached 15,930. Hamad Ali Abdullah Al-Hammoud, Director of the Department of Economic Development in Sharjah, confirmed that the business license indicators registered in the first quarter of the current year reflect the strength of the local economy and Sharjah's continued appeal as a promising investment destination, which enhances the emirate's sustainable growth trajectory. He noted that Sharjah is proceeding with a clear strategy to maintain stable growth rates, based on key factors including its distinguished geographical location and continuous development in the service sectors, alongside ongoing efforts to develop services to align with the highest global quality standards. According to the released data, there was a notable increase in the growth rate of issued licenses by type during Q1 2026. Commercial licenses led with a total of 1,671, followed by professional licenses at 999, and industrial licenses at 123. Accreditation licenses ranked fourth with 123, while e-commerce licenses came fifth with 75. Regarding renewed licenses, commercial licenses were first with 10,289, followed by professional licenses at 4,454 and industrial licenses at 867. In the geographical distribution of license performance across the department's branches, the main branch issued 1,510 business licenses in Q1 2026, followed by the Industrial Area branch with 841, the Central Region branch with 326, the Khor Fakkan branch with 195, and the Kalba branch with 98. The Dibba Al-Hisn branch recorded 21 issued licenses. For the geographical distribution of renewed business licenses in the same period, the Industrial Area branch led with 7,069 licenses, followed by the main branch with 6,064, the Central Region branch with 1,567, the Khor Fakkan branch with 636, the Kalba branch with 483, and the Dibba Al-Hisn branch with 111. The department continues to engage with consumers in Sharjah's markets through all possible means to raise awareness of their basic rights by providing online platforms, websites, and conducting continuous field tours. The total number of commercial control transactions in the first quarter of the current year reached 44,446, enabling the department to keep pace with the emirate's economic growth in 2026 and the increased demand for business licenses. The total number of resolved commercial protection complaints reached 3,073 in Q1 2026, constituting 89% of the total. The majority of these were related to consumer protection, totaling 2,812 complaints, followed by service agent complaints at 154, and commercial fraud complaints at 107. The department has intensified its recent activities in monitoring markets and rising prices, which resulted in 7 price observation complaints, accounting for only 0.2% of the total complaints received by the department.
