Dubai has a fondness for the biggest things

With the country’s oil on the wane, Dubai’s ruler, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, realised he needed to diversify his economy and has been actively courting investment. Western companies enjoy zero taxation and entrepreneurs no longer need to find a local sponsor before setting up a business. There’s also been colossal investment in infrastructure, with new roads, man-made islands and tall towers. Everyone has a different estimate as to the proportion of the world’s cranes that are in Dubai – some say 15%, others 55%.
Before you jump in too deep with your business idea, you should gather as much local knowledge of the region as possible. You should especially look into the industry that you are interested in working in with your business. You will need to develop a viable business plan for your business that includes forecasting and a survey of current market conditions. You should already have investors in place for your venture if possible. The law states that you are required to have a local partner in Dubai that holds the majority interest in the company. This means that the partner can control the business and it can be an individual or a company. The partner does not have to contribute financially to the start up business. You will need to register your business as well. Once it is registered you will have to show proof of sufficient financial resources to invest to the Ministry of Commerce. The amount you need to have tends to vary but it somewhere between $10,000 and $50,000. This amount is used as a guarantee against liabilities; however you are allowed to withdraw it after you have shown that you
BIG BUSINESS

Dubai has a fondness for the biggest things. The world’s tallest tower, the Burj Dubai, will be completed in 2008, reaching a stomach-churning 800 metres plus. It is planning the world’s biggest airport and the largest man-made marina is already in place. The soon-to-be-opened Dubailand will take the crown for theme park size, and other whoppers include a 70km Metro link. The government reasons that world records create publicity and interest which are then followed by investment.

The policy appears to work. More than 200 UK firms now have a base here. Dubai’s population, one of the youngest in the world, is 80% non-indigenous – drawn by the prospect of big bucks. There’s also a buzz in Dubai and optimism that things can be done. The absence of tax oils the cogs and 11 months a year of sunshine does no harm either.

But there are plenty of gaps to fill, so it is a haven for entrepreneurs. Steve Kirrage, senior vice president of banking products company Pistilion, has been in the Middle East for five years and has witnessed huge growth in Dubai: “There’s opportunity in most market sectors because the population is increasing so significantly,” he says. “Whatever your business does, the market is growing exponentially.” Construction and property are the main areas of expansion and UK-based businesses, such as Shooba and Select Property, are enjoying a roaring trade.

“The way to make money abroad is to buy off-plan,” says Hannah Davies of Shooba. “You will only put down 10-15% and a year later that £50,000 property in Dubai will be worth £65,000. If you sell it is called flipping.”
Tourism and leisure are also growing well. Dubai has a bevy of luxurious and opulent hotels and some glorious beaches to match. But the government says it is keen to bring more entertainment into the country. It has hosted some big acts but there’s nothing that could be called a scene – promoters and artiste managers take note.

Dubai is in a good position to do business with much of the world. It’s just three hours from India, six from the UK and three hours ahead of GMT, and as a location for a Middle East office it’s ideal. The world’s blue chips have descended on it and they all have needs to be served.

IT and technology are hungry markets. Markos Symeonides, vice president of IT firm Axiom, says that Arabs are keen to buy into western technologies and ideas. “There’s a big training market out there; they want to know what’s happening in the West and to buy into it,” he says.

FREEZONES

Previously, if you wanted to do business in the Middle East you required a local “sponsor” who would take 51% of your business for their troubles. Needless to say, this was something of a barrier to inward investment, unless you were there for oil or gas. But with oil predicted to run out by 2010, Dubai’s ruling family set up Freezones, where businesses hold on to the entirety of their company. The biggest is the Jebel Ali Freezone, dedicated to trade and manufacturing, but there are also zones for most other sectors, including medicine, media and IT. Betty Thayer, chief executive of exec-appointments.com, set up in the Airport Freezone. Her small office costs just £600 per month. But the process was slow – she began in March 2006 and started business in January – and there’s a fair amount of paperwork. The government will want to see a full business plan, previous accounts, tax returns and staff identification before granting a licence or a Freezone office. It is also discerning about who it wants to trade there.

“We had to work really hard to convince the government that we weren’t a recruitment company,” she says. The government apparently feels the area is already sufficiently catered for and isn’t keen to grant more licences in that sector. Don’t be tempted to gain access without all the paperwork in place – you might end up ejected.

“Some companies from the UK try to go over there and set up without going through all the licensing process. It works for a while but you cannot keep going for long,” Thayer warns.

STAFF

Attracting employees to Dubai shouldn’t be hard. There’s no personal taxation, the cost of living is lower and there’s near-permanent sunshine. There’s a great buzz and some exciting nightlife. Alcohol is available in hotels, clubs and restaurants and people can generally go about their business as they please.
“As soon as my staff have finished their probation we send them out there for a few days and they love it,” says Mark Stott of Select Property. “It’s a seven-nights-a-week town and the standard of living is great.”
House prices are far below London’s, so Dubai could be a place for some young people to get on to the property market. But prices are rising rapidly in the housing sector, as in all others. Stott says a one-bedroom flat in a prime location such as the marina would now sell for about £160,000 whereas three years ago it was closer to £100,000.
The average worker in the Middle East is increasingly likely to be fat and suffer from diabetes. But while regional
It would be hard to overestimate the influence of medical policy on the health of a nation’s economyof dubai. Its implications are so far-reaching and complex that, in the US, the issue steered a presidential election and weighed heavily on the report card for Obama’s first year in office.

The political makeup of many Middle East countries dictates that health care is not so much of a hot potato in the media. But the issue still has serious implications for society as a whole.

Firstly, health care is big business in the region. Organizers of this month’s Middle East Healthcare Expansion Summit in Dubai predict that the industry will be worth $60 billion by 2025. “No other region in the world faces such rapid growth in demand,” they claim.

But the predicted growth of business of dubai in spending is no particular cause for celebration, given the dire health problems in many Middle East countries.

Take the region’s severe obesity and diabetes problem. As Gulf News reports today, a whopping 75 per cent of UAE population is overweight. Around 18.7 percent of the population has diabetes, a figure expected to rise to 21.4 per cent by 2030, according to an expert quoted by the newspaper.

Professor Philip James, Chairman of the International Obesity Task Force and Director of the Public Health Policy Group (UK), says this is a problem affecting the Middle East as a whole. “Obesity has reached alarming proportions in the Middle East as over 45 per cent of women in the 15-49 age group are overweight or obese,” he says. “[There is a] need to tackle issues related to obesity more aggressively.”

But regional policymakers and influential royals are paying more and more attention to these worrying trends.
business of dubai
Princess Haya Bint Al Hussein, wife of Dubai ruler Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, highlighted the economic concerns of the emerging healthcare crisis in her keynote address at the recent Arab Health Exhibition and Congress in Dubai.
governments are waking up to this looming health crisis, employers have a role to play too.