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SHAMS (Sharjah Media City) and SPC (Sharjah Publishing City) both target Sharjah's creative-media segment at the same AED 5,750 starting price. SHAMS leans media-broad (production, marketing, advertising, content); SPC leans publishing-and-content (book, magazine, e-publishing, branded content).
Verdict: Pick SHAMS if you do video/audio/media production, marketing or advertising. Pick SPC if you publish (books, magazines, blogs, branded content, education materials).
Live channel-partner figures from Formenzo's pricing engine. Authority + Formenzo service scope only — visas, EID and medicals are extra and shown on each zone page.
| Metric | SHAMS | SPC |
|---|---|---|
| Starting priceAuthority licence + bundled flexi-desk; visas + EID extra. | AED 5,750 | AED 5,750 |
| Emirate | Sharjah | Sharjah |
| Visas (default → max) | 0 → 6 | 3 → 20 |
| Licence in | 1 days | 1 days |
| Visa complete in | 14 days | 5 days |
| Banking scorePre-screened bank fit. Final approval is bank-side. | 6/10 | 6/10 |
| Prestige score | 6/10 | 5/10 |
| Activities allowed | 5 | 1,500 |
| Bank panel | RAKBANK · Mashreq NeoBiz · WIO | Mashreq · WIO · Emirates NBD |
Pick SHAMS when
Pick SPC when
Both are Sharjah Government zones but with different mandates and licensing bodies. SHAMS is Sharjah Media City (broader media). SPC is Sharjah Publishing City (publishing-focused). They're priced identically (~AED 5,750 starting) but the activity catalogue and bank-application framing differ.
SHAMS — its activity catalogue is broader for video, audio and media production. SPC works if you're packaging content as branded-publication / book-form, but for raw video/audio/podcasting, SHAMS is the cleaner fit.
SHAMS allows up to 6 visas (default 3). SPC allows up to 6 visas (default 3). Both extend further with package upgrades. For 1–6 visas, both work; for 10+ visas, look at IFZA Dubai or RAKEZ instead.
Sharjah free zones bank reasonably at WIO, Mashreq NeoBiz, RAKBANK, and Emirates NBD. The bank file matters more than the zone — clean KYC, source-of-funds evidence, and activity that matches your CV win the application.
Yes — it's a fresh setup, not a transfer. The original company is closed and a new one is incorporated. Better to pick correctly the first time. If you can describe your work as 80%+ publishing, pick SPC; if 80%+ production/marketing, pick SHAMS.
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Seven questions — passport, activity, visas, budget, banking expectation. We return the 2–3 best-fit zones with full all-in pricing. No callback unless you ask.