The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a federation consisting of seven sheikdoms, or Emirates, located on the Arabian Gulf. It is the UK’s largest market for non-military goods in the Middle East, taking over £5.5bn worth of British exports last year (2005) and is an excellent place for UK companies to grow their business.

The federation represents seven different Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi; Dubai; Sharjah; Ras al-Khaimah; Umm al-Qawain; Ajman; and Fujairah. Of these, Abu Dhabi is the largest, but Dubai is quickly developing a reputation as a key financial centre. In fact, both Dubai and Abu Dhabi form excellent gateway markets to the rest of the region, including more than a billion people in the Gulf states, eastern Africa and parts of the African sub-continent.

The main sectors for export are manufactured goods, telecoms equipment, industrial machinery, vehicles and power generation equipment, but UK businesses are also increasingly participating in the UAE’s property and construction boom. The UAE has one of the highest GNP’s per head in the world. Dubai in particular is a fastgrowing economy which is believed to house 20 per cent of the world’s cranes. Its growing reach was underlined in December when the investment arm of the Dubai Government tabled its £450 million bid for Liverpool Football Club. Abu Dhabi owns approximately 10 per cent of the world’s oil reserves and five per cent of its gas, but is also relatively well-insulated against periods of low oil rices due to an impressive investment portfolio financed from its oil income.

Dubai has more limited hydrocarbon reserves, but boasts a thriving economy and free trade zone, recently enhanced even further by ventures such as the Dubai Internet City and Media City. The vast majority of UK/UAE trade is still conducted through Dubai, although Sharjah has recently established itself as a base for manufacturing.

The UAE’s programme of investment and privatisation offers great opportunities for UK businesses, with trade between the countries growing at a fast pace. Dubai in particular offers one of the most pro-business and liberal regulatory environments in the region, with no taxation on profits or incomes, no foreign exchange controls and a stable, freely convertible currency.

UK Trade & Investment can provide financial support, advice and assistance to companies participating in trade missions to the UAE, handling administration and negotiating favourable travel and accommodation packages. Help is also readily available from UKTI’s commercial staff at the British Embassies in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, who hold receptions and brief incoming missions on arrival. They provide tailored market information, up-to-date customer contact lists and also offer a programme-arranging service. In addition, UKTI staff can handle the local marketing of your company – including the production of a mission brochure, highlighting all the products and services offered by participating businesses.

In June, a UKTI-funded North West regional market visit organised by the International Trade Centre for Greater Merseyside took 12 local companies to Dubai, where the ITC has built a good relationship with the Government. Two participating companies were Accrington-based Jet Rollers, and Lombard Shipping and Forwarding from Liverpool. Jet Rollers is one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of rubber rollers for the paper industry, primarily supplying companies in the UK and Ireland, as well as the Middle East. It says the market visit provided a useful opportunity to make new contacts and consolidate existing links.

“As a result of the trade mission in Dubai, we have goods on site or on the water totalling £3,300, quotes outstanding worth £3,000 and an order worth £67,520 due for shipping in stages between December and March next year, so it was very fruitful indeed,” say company directors Wally and Maureen Walker. Lombard Shipping and Forwarding, meanwhile, used the trip to build new contacts as well as cementing a relationship with an existing contact. The freight forwarding company has been in business since 1976 and is a specialist in handling power-lifting equipment. Its visit resulted in 150 containers recently being shipped to Dubai and Saudi Arabia, with the potential for a significant increase in future business to the area.

“Although Dubai is not a great manufacturing area, a lot of business goes via Dubai, and we hope to be able to capitalise on this,” says managing director Frank Fox. “Dubai’s free port zone area is substantial, providing a catalyst for growth, and the UKTI visit gave us the opportunity to meet with agents – one of whom has since visited us twice in Liverpool.

“There are great opportunities centred around the current construction boom,” he added. Business Link Cumbria also hosted a recent mission to Dubai in November, accompanying nine companies from a range of business sectors – from shower fittings to camel-proof fencing. Jo Vincent Glass Designers was one of the firms that attended. It commissioned an OMIS (Overseas Market Introduction Service) report before the visit, which helped the firm to arrange 12 meetings while in Dubai. Vincent’s products range from small decorative vases and door handles to large-scale LED lighting, chandeliers, mirrors, glass panels and windows. Much of her work is produced on commission for hotel chains, schools, public buildings and private individuals – making Dubai’s thriving property market an ideal place for her exclusive designs.

“I was amazed by my trip to Dubai,” she says. “You hear about the construction boom, but the sheer scale of the building work there is unbelievable. Lots of people had suggested that Dubai would be a good market for my work, and I have already been given a couple of jobs to quote for from hotel chains.” Another firm, Kudos Shower Products, has returned from Dubai with a request to submit quotes for projects worth £1.3 million – despite this being the company’s first foray into the export market.

Managing Director Jim Watson commissioned two OMIS reports prior to attending the mission – one to identify the potential market, and another to arrange a programme of appointments. Thanks to an introduction made by the Embassy, Kudos met with Sultaco, a major builders’ merchants and interior materials supplier for the construction industry, and has since put forward a formal proposal for an exclusive contract. In the meantime, it has been asked to supply quotes for a hotel and a tower block, and received follow-up requests from several of the other companies that it met

“The help we received in terms of market information, advice and introductions has been invaluable,” says Watson. “We’re now hopeful that we will secure firm contracts in Dubai and Abu Dhabi, and look forward to expanding our business in the UAE.”

SIX TIPS FOR DOING BUSINESS IN THE UAE

1. Don’t plan to visit Dubai during the two main Islamic religious holidays – Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha – as during these periods most businesses and all government offices are closed. In 2007, Eid al-Fitr begins at the end of Ramadan on October 13, Eid al-Adha on December 20. It is discourteous to eat, drink, or smoke in front of Muslims in daylight hours during Ramadan (which begins in 2007 on September 13).

2. Do not present the sole of your foot to your hosts, as this is interpreted as an insult in the Arab world because the soles of the feet are considered to be unclean. Also, do not accept food, or anything else, with your left hand.

3. Do not express admiration for something belonging to your host. This can be interpreted as bad manners as your host may think you are asking for it as a gift and feel obliged to insist that you keep it.

4. There are many Arabic words for God that are also popular names in the UAE. These are always preceded by ‘Abdul’ (meaning Slave of). Anyone with such a name must always be referred to in full as ‘Abdul Aziz’ or ‘Abdul Rahman’ and never as just ‘Abdul’.

5. Federal and Emirate laws apply to business dealings in the UAE, and the process will be unfamiliar to UK businesses, who should seek advice from a reputable lawyer before making any commercial decisions. Disputes need to be avoided if possible, as litigation in UAE courts is lengthy and expensive.

6. Trade shows are a valuable point of distribution for advertising material and sales literature, and all commercial literature and correspondence should be in Arabic as well as English. Price quotations should be given in UAE Dirham (Dh), with all charges (including customs duty) paid.
More information can be found on the UKTI website: www.uktradeinvest.gov.uk

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