Culture & Education | Monday 7 May, 2018 3:43 pm |

Thirty-five Chinese publishing houses have visited Sharjah Publishing City (SPC), the world’s first free zone dedicated exclusively to the publishing industry, to explore investment opportunities and view the facilities on offer to organisations looking to either expand or enter into the regional market.

The delegation was briefed about the free zone’s industry-specific services and amenities by Salem Omar Salem, Director of SPC, including digital solutions to cater to the ever-increasing role technology plays in the publishing sector.

During the visit, the representatives from China and SPC discussed ways of boosting cooperation and increasing investment in the local, regional and international markets through the emirate of Sharjah. The Chinese delegation highlighted the most recent developments of the book industry within its own marketplace and the economic trends in knowledge sectors.

The SPC Director said that Sharjah Publishing City is open to all organisations related to the publishing and book industries, who can experience Sharjah’s pioneering approach to facilitating the publishing movement in the Arab world and enriching Arabic and international libraries.

"The Chinese book market is of great importance on both Asian and global levels. Statistics from the Publishers Association of China in 2016 show that the book retail market has seen an impressive annual growth of 12.3% and sales amounted to more than 70 billion yuan (US $10 billion). It would be enormously beneficial to both sides if we can strengthen our relationship and realise our expansion goals through providing a high quantity of publications with high quality content," Salem said.

SPC strives to provide an investment environment for publishers and those involved in publishing sectors from around the world through a range of facilities and services which include printing, licensing and distribution among many others. It covers an area of 40,000 square meters and is equipped with 300 furnished offices for business owners and publishers, as well as 6,000 meters for those interested in private spaces. It also includes more than 20 meeting rooms, stores, service facilities, data centres and supporting services.