French Business Council member survey shows a high degree of confidence in the business climate in Dubai, the UAE and the Middle East
FBC seeks to enhance impact for members and targets major projects in
the region through a new executive group – ‘LE Club’*
The French Business Council Dubai & Northern Emirates (FBC) has
announced the results of its latest survey into business confidence
amongst its members* in Dubai and the Northern Emirates. The FBC 2010
survey showed very positive views of the prospects for the region, with
the UAE as the preferred base from which to do business within the
region. The majority of French companies responding expect to maintain
or increase investment and recruitment in the next six months; and the
recent negative publicity about Dubai was deemed to have limited/no
impact on business for the vast majority of respondents.
The 2010 survey results were shared with members and guests at an FBC
gala dinner held at the Hotel Sofitel Dubai Jumeirah Beach on 18
February 2010, during which the latest membership directory was
presented (FBC membership has grown from 300 in 2007 to over 400 at the
end of 2009) and a new special interest group was introduced – ‘LE Club’
– for C-level executives, with a focus on encouraging access to major
project opportunities in the region, for the benefit of all members of
the FBC.
Survey highlights:
• Two thirds of respondents anticipate sustained growth or accelerated
growth in their industries over the next six months.
• More than 80% of respondents expect to undertake additional investment
and recruitment in the next six months.
• 75% identified Abu Dhabi and Dubai as the best locations to set up
regional HQ.
• Infrastructure, lifestyle, legal framework, ease of recruitment, and
the attractiveness of the local market were all cited as reasons to base
regional HQs in the UAE.
• Looking further ahead, around 80% of respondents believe the Middle
East has medium to high potential for their business over the next three
years.
• Members have experienced a noticeable slowdown in business in the UAE
compared to other GCC countries but 80% of respondents now believe the
next six months will see growth.
• Members operating in business services, hospitality and manufacturing
were the most adversely affected by the downturn with zero/negative
growth in H2 2009, compared to H1 2009.
• The retail/wholesale and energy/utilities sectors fared best through
2009 with significant growth achieved in H2 2009 compared to H1 2009.
• Price deflation and bad debts were identified by respondents as
increasingly significant issues over the last six months.
Speaking at the FBC gala dinner, President of the French Business
Council Dubai & Northern Emirates, Mr Henri Zoleyn, commented: “The FBC
in Dubai & Northern Emirates continues to develop strongly, with an
increasingly active and growing membership. Our latest membership survey
shows strong and growing confidence in Dubai as a high quality city in
which to live and work, and from which to do business across the region.
This resilience is reflected in the successful relationships forged
between Dubai and the Northern Emirates and France, and the growing
commercial links. The launch of ‘LE Club’ is an innovation by the FBC
and this new group of senior executives will help facilitate access to
opportunities, especially in major infrastructure projects within the
region, for the potential benefit of all members including SMEs, who
form the majority of our membership. It’s part of our plan to achieve a
greater impact within the region.”
‘LE Club’ (L=Leadership; E=Entrepreneurship) brings together a group of
top executives from leading French multinational and regional companies,
active in ICT/telecoms, transport, energy, oil and gas,
defence/security, and media.
The aim of ‘LE Club’ is to create an active network of senior executives
within the FBC, who will share best practice across a broad range of
strategically important industries.
Lionel Reina, VP EEMEA, Orange Business Services and spokesperson of LE
Club, added: “LE Club will help create new opportunities within the
French Business Council for senior executives from the francophone
community to network effectively, and allow us to harness the collective
leadership experience, expertise and influence of these key decision
makers. We aim to support the FBC Executive Committee and the wider
French business community represented by the FBC – from large companies
to the substantial number of SMEs – through a focus on the opportunity
presented by major projects in the region, where more than US$1 trillion
will be invested over the next 10 years.”
Commercial links between France and the UAE have grown consistently over
the last 30 years and around 300 French companies (affiliates &
representation offices) are currently active in the UAE, with more than
50 per cent of these based in Dubai. France is currently the seventh
largest exporter to the UAE, and the UAE is France’s leading partner in
the Middle East, in the areas of commerce, culture and defence.
During the speech he gave on the 15th of January 2008 on the occasion of
his state visit to the UAE, Mr Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France,
observed that the United Arab Emirates is "a country which has become,
in thirty years, the first partner [in the Middle East] on the economic,
military and now cultural level."
