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By Suad Alhalwachi

2. Some background about me!
 Director of own company
 Operating in Dubai for 9 years
 Chartered accountant
 Educated in Bahrain, Iraq, Switzerland, England,
and New Zealand
 Bahrain national and New Zealand citizen
 Married with 3 adult children
 Muslim
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3. Overview of this session
 UAE demographics
 Doing business in the UAE
 Who does business in the UAE?
 What to expect
 What to wear for meetings
 Business greetings and gifts
 Dealing with refreshments
 Conducting meetings
 Effective Communication
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4. UAE Demographics
 UAE has a young and ethnically diverse
population, with a median age of 28 years
 Emiratis represent approximately 19% of 4 million
residents
 OtherArabs and Iranians represent another 23%
 Asians, especially south Indians, are the largest
individual ethnic group, and comprise some 50%
 Western and East Asian expatriates account for
8%.
 Expats account for over 90% of the UAE workforce
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5. Doing business in the UAE
 Companies establishing a local office must use a
resident sponsor
 A sponsor may be a UAE citizen or an institution
 There are 13 free trade zones in the UAE (inc.
KnowledgeVillage)
 There is no federal tax legislation in the UAE.
Decrees governing tax apply in each of the
Emirates
 Import procedures in the UAE follow standard
international practice but restrictions apply to
some items; for example, pork and alcohol 5

6. Doing business in the UAE,
continued…
 The UAE weekend is Friday and Saturday
 Many businesses (but not government offices) are
open on Saturday
 Some offices work a split shift from 8 am to 1 pm
and then 4pm to 7pm. Others work a straight shift
of 8am to 5pm and others 9am to 6 pm
 Business activity slows during the month of
Ramadan (office hours become 8am to 3pm)
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7. Who does business in the UAE?
 You will usually encounter UAE nationals in
Government organisations, banks, and also in
some private businesses
 Given the large number of expatriates working in
the UAE, it is not uncommon for business to be
conducted with non-Arab managers
 Trading links between Asia and the UAE are strong
and long standing therefore South Asians
(especially Indians and Pakistanis) may occupy
senior and middle management positions in UAE
companies
 Woman do business in the UAE
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8. What to expect
 UAE business people are culturally-aware owing to
their travel and work with expats BUT foreigners are
expected to respect Arab values when doing business
 English is spoken mostly in business
 Businesspeople (usually men) are very time conscious
and appreciate getting to business quickly
 Complex business procedures are common, so
transactions tend to take longer than expected
 In some areas people are more relaxed about the time
 However, punctuality is always expected of foreigners
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9. What to wear for meetings
 Men
 Standard business suit and tie
 Evening functions dressing can vary; usually a semi formal look is
fine
 For casual occasions, trousers and a shirt is acceptable.
 Women
 Should wear loose fitting trousers and a shirt or a long dress
 Avoid short skirts and revealing clothes
 Head does not need to be covered
 In general, dress conservatively
 Remember it is offensive to sit with the soles of the feet
or shoes facing other members of the group
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10. Business greetings
 Arab males usually greet each other with an embrace
and a kiss and sometimes walk hand-in-hand
 Westerners are greeted with a handshake
 MEN: Allow Muslim women to offer a handshake first, as
some women prefer not to do this
 Your host may say: salam alaikom (peace be upon you)
 You should reply: alaikom al salam
 Avoid friendly physical contact, such as slapping on the
back, which may be construed as an insult
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11. Business gifts
 The exchange of gifts is common in business
circles but such gifts are usually small corporate
items such as pens, books, business items etc
 In a social settings, a small gift of chocolates,
sweets, or a western souvenir is appreciated
 Care should be taken not to express admiration for
something owned by your host, or you may be
embarrassed by having the object offered to you
on the spot as a gift
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12. Dealing with refreshments
 Hosts are gracious and like to spend time on small
talk over coffee, tea, or soft drinks before business
discussions commence
 If you are offered refreshments you must accept
them
 It is customary to drink more than one cup of tea or
coffee, but not more than you are offered
 Sounds of sipping or eating are considered as
compliments to the host
 Remember when eating with your hands, drinking
tea or coffee, or passing things by hand, never use
your left hand, which is considered unclean
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13. Conducting meetings
 Face-to-face meetings are very important
 The host is not expected to initiate the business
discussion
 In opening there is small talk, often about the health
and well being of the other person and their family
 Hosts will express disagreements with politeness
 People may talk about various things at once in the
meeting
 Visitors might come all at once during the meeting
 The host may take telephone calls during the meeting
 The host should never terminate a conversation 13

14. Effective Communication
 Arabs prefer speaking and place less emphasis on writing
 Begin with a verbal outline of your message
 Avoid a series of closed questions that force your host
into aYes/No response - like in Asia, ‘yes’ can mean
‘perhaps’
 Be an active listener and always have a friendly approach
 Suggest alternatives if your proposal does not resonate
 Be patient with people’s responses
 Be prepared to leave the room with no firm
commitments
 When relationships are formed, principals may want to
move quickly, sometimes on no more than a handshake
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15. Doing business as an Arab women
 In my experience:
 In Saudi I had to drag my brother with me!
 Finance is limited (women considered high risk)
 Normally the contracts given to my company has
less financial value to those offered to men owners
 Main Reasons for leaving my previous job – not
reaching glass ceiling
 Any questions?
 Thank you
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