Positive PORTrayal & Patriotism

The Economist leader, this week, critiques the US in its portrayal of simple selfish populism:

PATRIOTISM, said Samuel Johnson, is the last refuge of a scoundrel. That may be unfair to the proper sort of patriot, but it would be an entirely valid comment about politicians today who make a fuss about foreign takeovers in their countries, in the name of “national interests”. The truth is that they are not defending their nations' interests at all. They are defending their own interests and (often) those of their cronies.

It also commented that the backlash was a slap in the face of Dubai. But as news came in that the UK courts had approved the deal despite the objections of Eller & Co, the US P&O partner who is opposing the deal, it could be said that, either way, this deal has heightened awareness of Dubai and the UAE. There are probabaly some converts who read through the hate campaign, and there are sceptics who were never going to be converted.

What can be said is this: throughout the case, DPW has behaved impeccably, neither resorting to cheap tactics, nor hurling accusations. Objective onlookers will look at the situation and see the benefits of working with UAE related companies, government funded or otherwise. Whether or not the path will be blocked with investment in the US, other economies will open the arms to the benefits of working with the UAE, whose sole aim is to diversify, and to adopt best practice operations, especially in new international markets.

I'll take those positives as a win.

On communication and miscommunication

The hand signal of putting all your fingers and thumb together, sort of cup like, means 'Wait just one minute' among Indians but to some Latin cultures, this could verge on the obscene. Amongst the globalized society in which we live, it becomes more and more important to understand the intricacies of culture especially, where language is a barrier. The US army recently funded some software to teach their troops how to use and detect Iraqi body language. Supposedly, and it must be true if Will Smith said it (in Hitch), 60% of all communication is non verbal, but if you can't get the verbal right, you risk a worst case scenario where everyone who knows you thinks you are dead, as Ahmed Arshi found out in Abu Dhabi.

The importance of communication is clear, but the biggest miscommunication is to assume that communication has taken place, which is a hurdle that needs to be faced in the UAE where people's first language is sometimes pot luck.

(Note to file - must learn Arabic, Hindi, Mandarin and Spanish)

A far fetched thought on outsourcing

Whatever your situation, many of you would agree that the number of workers who move to the UAE to make a wage to look after their families back home, is a little sad - which is why I get enthused by seemingly insignificant stories such as this one. While many of his fellow Keralites are working in a variety of different jobs in the UAE (Those from Kerala are the largest proportion of Indians that are in the UAE), Jacob Kuruvilla makes buses in India that that he has been contracted to build by Dubai.

This made me think. If this could be done with Buses, it could be done with many other things. A move to not displace workers from their families, could be to offer similar salaries to carry out work in their home countries. If some sort of outsourcing arrangement could be struck up in a high level agreement between governments, the welfare of some people may indeed be improved. Whilst this is unworkable in an industry such as construction, something like this could open up further markets for the UAE, it would be a humanitarian move and could potentially save money.

OK, so it is a little far fetched, but when everything that is announced is big and bold, small initiatives like this may indeed be earners and could potentially make the world a better place.

UAE Rental Range Spreadsheet 2006

For those of you that are considering moving to the UAE, you may find the rental range spreadsheet of some use. I have just put together a very rough overview of the rates available in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. While this may not be useful to those already here, it could be useful to those moving here.

There's no real analysis, just some data to help out and make life a little easier.

Please feel free to share with anyone you feel may find the information useful. And also, if you have any corrections or ammendments, I would welcome those as well.

You can locate it from the home page of the grapeshisha website.

Competition

Sheikha Lubna has been important for the UAE for two reasons - she was the first female minister, and she understands the benefit that foreign businesses and competition play in the economy. Since she was assigned her role in Economy and Planning in late 2004, there have been rumours of a new companies law that would really change the dynamic of the UAE economy. In January, she announced that foreign ownership of companies (outside the freezones) would move from 49% to a 79% cap. It was talked about yesterday that this would now be 100% ownership which would completely shake up the economy. Whether this is in fact true, or was just referring to the massive special economic zones project for Abu Dhabi that was discussed today is unclear. What is clear that whether it is 79% or 100% ownership for foreign companies, the lure to these companies to operate in the UAE increases substantially. It is also clear that UAE Nationals are busy securing business interests before agency laws monopolising importing of foreign brands are changed. Bring on June by which time the new law will be announced.

Andrew Carnegie once said "And while the law [of competition] may be sometimes hard for the individual, it is best for the race, because it ensures the survival of the fittest in every department."

Fujeirah is the new Abu Dhabi?

Fujeirah is the new Abu Dhabi? Abu Dhabi was the new Dubai? Thursday is the new Friday, but for some, Wednesday is.

It is amusing how the Observer pitches the whole play for tourism as a competition between Emirates and that now Fujeirah is stealing Abu Dhabi's thunder. I fear the Ms. Fearis is not aware that Abu Dhabi has bigger pockets. Each Emirate offers different things and is pitched as so. Whatever happens with Fujeirah, it will never be the same as Abu Dhabi which will never be same as Dubai.

Next thing they will be saying that Ras al Khaimah is the new NASA, or Cape Canaveral or Florida or moon or something farfetched like that.

Piff Paff Puff - Smoking Legislation

Recently the UK government passed legislation to ban smoking from all public enclosed areas, meaning that essentially smokers could only really smoke in their own homes, with the ban coming into play in the Summer of 2007. Secret Dubai recently highlighted the issue of a plan to implement such a ban within the next five years, and commented on the fact that smoking is a natural occurrrence here, since the UAE is a smokers haven. Many smoke, and many smoke from an early age.

Talk of bans are all well and good, but the issue is enforcablity of the rule. Reports today suggest a taxing on tobacco products, pricing cigarettes out of the range of children. While we believe that shisha cafes should not be banned outright, due to cultural heritage, age restrictions, licencing and taxes are the basic legislation that need to be considered. Next should be to police the current no smoking areas, whether they be offices, malls, or restaurants. There is a current apathy to the ban by malls, for example, since there are no fines for non enforcing any such ban and supposedly the freezones are smoke free zones.

Here are some basics of legislation we would recommend:
1. Issue licensing for public establishements such as retaurants, bars and shisha cafes.
2. Tax tobacco products at a realistic level, but not as much as 500-700%
3. Make smoking illegal below the age of 18
4. Ban smoking in offices as part of HSE or Labour Law with relevant checking
5. Enforce severe punishments for anyone flouting such laws.

The fact that this has become a major issue very recently makes the upcoming legislation important. Being firm now, will be crucial for the future health of the youth of tomorrow. Being weak and cowing down to the apathy of smokers to health issues and passive effects on non smokers will lead to the shambles of previous , failed attempts to ban smoking in the UAE.