Doing Business in the Middle East

Doing Business in the Middle East

Presently Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen are the 14 nations in the Middle East. The majority of Middle Easterners share in common the Arab culture, language and religion. It is especially important to take note of the Islamic belief. "Islam means the act of giving one's self to God or Allah" (Harris & Moran, 2000, p.385). Visitors and business people must understand the powerful religious and cultural force of Islam to appreciate or comprehend this country. Although this paper focuses on establishing and doing business in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the writers have also given attention to the demographics and culture of this intriguing country.

Demographics

The United Arab Emirates is bordered by Saudi Arabia and Oman. Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Dubai, Fujairah, Ras as-Khaimah, Sharjah and Umm al Qaiwain are the seven emirates. Most of the inside areas of the UAE are desert, and from May to September in Abu Ddhabi and Dubai, the humidity and daytime temperatures stay around 105 degrees Fahrenheit. These high temperatures keep people inside during the daytime hours, and often leaving their homes in the evening to conduct business. Business hours in this region vary, but are generally from 8am to 1pm, reopening at either 3pm or 4pm and closing at 6pm or 7pm. Bank hours are generally 8am to midday. Markets and food stores are open at the later evening hours when it is much cooler (http://jafza.co.ae/ad1.htm).

The population of the UAE is approximately two million people of whom only 500,000 are United Arab Emirates citizens; the others are from other Gulf countries, Pakistan, Iran and India. Although English is widely understood, Arabic is the official language. Most Emirates, approximately 96%, are Sunni Muslims (the remaining 4% are considered Hindu), and their paramount virtues are considered to be dignity, honor and reputation.

Although mostly hot and dry with little rain to speak of, the UAE has one important natural resource - petroleum. This marketed the transformation of the UAE's economy in 1962 with the first export of oil from Abu Dhabi (Johnson, 1987). The UAE became one of the most stable and untroubled international business centers in the Arab world.

A hereditary emir or prince rules each of the seven emira...

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...en lease agreement; personnel documents for the License requirement are submitted. After the company representative and the Authority have met and finalized details of the project, actual documents are processed.

There are 7 Free Trade Zones (FTZ) in the UAE; Hamriyah FTZ, Ajman FTZ, Umm Al Quwain FTZ, Fujairah FTZ, Ras AL Khaimah FTZ, Sharjah Airport FTZ, and Jebel FTZ. Located in the Emirate of Dubai in the United Arab Emirates, the Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority was created by a Government of Dubai decree on 9th February 1985. Jebel is a business base for over 1450 companies from 85 countries. While their businesses span a whole range of activities, they can be broadly classified into three distinct groups, namely Trading, Industrial and Service companies. About 74% of the companies hold trading licenses, 22% industrial and the rest 4%, service licenses. With corporations like Reebok, Konica, Kenwood, Black & Decker, Sony, Pioneer, and IBM, the Jebel FTZ has the highest demand for support services in the area. The Jebel Ali Free Zone is a vibrant, stable, safe and prospective location occupying over 100 sq. km. it is an ideal location for INS Integrated Products and Services.