4. History
• Portuguese
colony
• Then
became
an
Indonesian
colony
in
1976
• Fight
for
independancy
• Independance
in
1999
• Recognized
as
an
independant
country
in
2002
5. Economy
•
Lower-‐middle
–income
economy
•
ConJnues
to
suffer
aLereffects
of
independence
struggle
against
Indonesia
•
70%
infrastructure
destroyed
by
Indonesian
troops
(1999)
•
Violence
erupted
again
in
2006
•
Human
Development
Index
=
162nd
•
Relies
mainly
on
internaJonal
assistance
6. ECONOMY
1
Of
the
poorest
countries
in
the
world
…
GDP
GDP
nominal
$590
GDP
nominal
PPP
$2,741
GDP
nominal
/
capita
$542
GDP
nominal
PPP
/
capita
$2,521
7. Economy
Timor
Gap:
Sea
bounderies
issues
for
Petroleum
Petroleum
=
1/3rd
of
East
Timor
GDP
8. CULTURAL
Religion
%
Catholics
97%
Muslims
1%
Protestants
1%
Hindus
0,5%
Buddhists
0,1%
TradiJonal
Animist
minoriJes
…
Language
Status
NaJonal
languages
Tetum
&
Portuguese
Business
languages
Indonesian
&
English
9. BUSINESS
CULTURE
• NO
East
Timor
in
Hofstede
Database
!!!
• Compare
w/
South-‐East
Asia
– High
level
of
Power
Distance
– Risk
Averse
– Low
masculanity
index
– Long
distance,
Confusianism?
10. NEGOTIATING
• Use
of
silence
in
business:
– +ve
– -‐ve
• Opposite
of
Western
coutries:
– Bargaining
is
a
way
of
life
for
Timorese
11. TABOOS
• War
• Recent
history
• Present
poliJcal
situaJon
with
Indonesians
• Sexual
violence
A
real
problem
in
East
Timor
12. RECOMMENDATIONS
• Quite
new
country
• SJll
gejng
structured
economically
+
poliJcally
•
Can’t
be
compared
to
Indonesia
– Different
culture
heritage
=
Lack
of
informaJon
in
terms
of
Business
cultural
dimensions
13. RECOMMENDATIONS
Know
about
the:
– Historical
– Economic
– PoliJcal
background
of
East
Timor!
And
use
common
sense
and
adaptability!
14. Wanna
go?
• NY
-‐>
San
Francisco
• San
Francisco
-‐>
Sidney
• Sidney
-‐>
Dili
• 45
hrs
• $3,000
