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From March 4th to March 9th, more than 40 entrepreneurs led by Chinese International gathered in the United Arab Emirates to start a 6-day and 5-night trip to explore business opportunities in the United Arab Emirates and the New Middle East. Among them, entrepreneurs from various fields learned about key issues such as the economic development of the UAE, the entrepreneurial experience of the Middle East, and the import and export trade policy, and gained practical experience.
The wonderful sharing of more than 10 heavyweight guests brought the whole investigation trip to a new height, and the "expert think tanks" had in-depth exchanges on the business strategies and development methods of local enterprises in the Middle East and Chinese multinational enterprises in the Middle East, from grasping the macro to strategic decoding, from going overseas dividends to brand rooting, exploring new opportunities and new challenges in the learning of benchmarking enterprises, and opening a new chapter in the 2024 Middle East overseas investigation!
1 Why choose the UAE?
If anything, it is our sense of vulnerability in the present and uncertainty about the future. If anything, it is continuous learning that can reshape the future of humanity in an increasingly complex, uncertain and unstable world.
It is better to travel thousands of miles than to read 10,000 books, and Chinese International continues to lead entrepreneurs to return to zero and start again. In 2024, the first stop of the Chinese international overseas investigation in the Middle East, we choose the hot spot for Chinese enterprises to go overseas to dig gold - the United Arab Emirates!
The United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven emirates comprising ABU Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Fujairah, Umm Qaywan, Ajman and Khaimah, is undoubtedly a model state in the Middle East. For 11 consecutive years, Arab youth have ranked the UAE as the country they would most like to live in and the country they would most like to emulate, ahead of the United States, Canada, France and Germany, according to the poll.
In the Global Ease of Doing Business Index published by the World Bank in 2020, the UAE ranked 16th out of 190 countries and territories worldwide, topping the list in the Middle East and North Africa region. The UAE's openness is second to none in the Middle East. To date, the UAE has 46 economic free trade zones, within which special tax, customs and import regimes are implemented, and English common law is applied as its regulatory framework.
It can be said that the success of the UAE has opened up a proven development path for the Arab world: to develop itself by integrating into the global economic and trade system while preserving its cultural traditions and religious values.
But back to N years ago, most of the stereotypes in the Middle East at that time were negative images such as "people are rich", "society is extremely conservative", "industry is scarce and backward", but with the changes in the international situation, many Middle Eastern countries are undergoing profound changes in terms of social culture, economy and industry, and diplomatic strategy.
As a key center of the global economy and an important partner of the Belt and Road Initiative, the Middle East has deep economic and trade ties with China. China's trade volume with Middle Eastern countries reached 507.152 billion US dollars in 2022, showing its status as the most important trading partner in the Middle East.
The UAE and Saudi Arabia, in particular, have both countries have their Vision 2030 at the heart of economic development, aiming to enhance their international standing and become engines of regional economies.
China's trade influence in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) is on the rise (Source: Statista).
Great changes bring great opportunities.
For Chinese enterprises, entering the Middle East not only means facing new opportunities, but also a strategic layout in the face of the challenge of domestic market saturation in the context of globalization. According to a report by PwC, more than 75% of respondents cited the potential of the Middle East market as their main reason for investing, and more than 80% of companies are planning to enter the Middle East market.
In order to let Chinese entrepreneurs who are interested in going overseas deeply feel the changes and opportunities in the Middle East, from March 4th to March 9th, Chinese International started the long-prepared itinerary of the United Arab Emirates New Middle East business opportunity investigation and exploration trip.
This time, China International led more than 40 entrepreneurs, entrepreneurs and well-known scholars who are concerned about the Middle East overseas market, focusing on Abu Dhabi and Dubai, the two core cities of the United Arab Emirates. He visited more than 10 companies stationed in the Middle East, covering venture capital funds, science and technology industrial parks, new energy enterprises, mobile social networking, logistics services, new digital infrastructure, web3 technology, cross-border payment and other fields.
During the field visits and exchanges, we have a deeper and thorough understanding of the business environment and cultural background of Middle Eastern countries. At the same time, it effectively links local resources and gets more opportunities for business and cooperation.
2 How is the global investment hot land forged?
In recent years, the Middle East has become a popular region for global investors, attracting a wide range of investments. This phenomenon can be attributed to the attractiveness of the Middle East in a number of ways: economic diversification (de-oiling), infrastructure development, policy preferences, and geopolitical status.
In the Middle East, many Chinese companies are also actively deploying, and Chinese International has also carefully organized targeted enterprise visits for the members of this corporate study tour.
At the Dubai Investment Development Authority, which oversees foreign investment in Dubai, they listened to a presentation by the authorities on "Dubai's Investment and Development Environment and Policy Orientation";
Trainees visit the Dubai Investment Development Authority
In the past 20 years, Huawei has actively participated in the construction of telecommunications and information technology infrastructure in the Middle East. Visiting Hub71, Abu Dhabi's largest incubator and accelerator, we learned that Hub71 has attracted more than 260 science and technology enterprises to settle in by providing co-working space, financing opportunities, legal and administrative support, etc., covering agricultural technology, aerospace, cybersecurity and many other fields.
Trainees visit Hub71
Also included are Dubai Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCFC) and DP World, which understand the key role that multiple ports in the Middle East play in global trade.
PCFC and DP World visits
In addition to these mature companies, we also visited one of the overseas sub-markets of Yiwu Group's global strategy - Dubai Yiwu China Commodity City, located in the Jebel Ali Free Trade Zone, where you can enjoy zero VAT, zero tariff, no corporate income tax, no personal income tax, and 100% business ownership, no local insurance needs.
Dubai Yiwu visit
J&T Express, a global integrated logistics service operator, saw the bright and conspicuous red express car of J&T, and gained an in-depth understanding of the many pain points of the logistics industry in the Middle East and the corresponding solutions to China's logistics.
J&T visits and exchanges
Walk into Masdar City, which is the UAE announced to the world in 2007 that it will "build the world's zero-carbon and zero-waste city in the desert", which is called "a green utopia in the desert".。 Accompanied by Masdar City planners, the trainees visited a series of scenarios such as Masdar green transportation applications, green electricity, low-carbon building planning, and urban waste disposal. The participants fully exchanged ideas for building a future zero-carbon city with green and low-carbon industrial clusters.
Masdar City Exchange and Sharing
Why can the Middle East, especially the UAE, attract so many overseas companies to develop markets here? Head of ADIO, Abu Dhabi Investment OfficeTell us that when foreign companies land in Abu Dhabi, they can hold 100% of the shares and ownership of the shares, and the funds can be transferred freely; The Investment Office will connect with different infrastructure and institutions according to its sub-sector, such as industrial enterprises are most suitable for Kizad Industrial Park, and fintech companies are most suitable for Abu Dhabi Global Market; For innovative technology companies such as health care and smart agriculture, ADIO will give preferential subsidies based on relevant evaluation indicators such as the company's attraction of high-tech talents, contribution to local GDP, and whether it is a regional center.
The UAE is also a long-term tax-free country. Although the UAE began to levy VAT on goods and services from 1 January 2018, the rate is only 5%, which is the lowest level in the world. On June 1, 2023, the UAE began to impose a 9% corporate tax on businesses with an annual profit of more than 375,000 UAE dirhams (equivalent to about US$102,000), but the corporate tax does not apply to companies located in the free trade zone, which has a unique tax preferential policy and regulatory environment.
It can be seen that the opening up of the UAE has not only promoted the improvement of the business environment in the Middle East, but also released many opportunities, driving the Middle East to soar and grow rapidly in the wave of digital economy.
3 Mentors share a superior position
Throughout the trip, China International invited more than 10 industry leaders, or corporate executives or university professors who study international relations, to bring you a wonderful sharing from a high vantage point.
Sharing Theme 1: Chinese Tech Companies' Strategies to Fend off Geopolitical Risks in the Middle East
Sharing Tutor: Chen, Professor of School of International Relations, Jinan University, Dean of Haiguo Institute of Intelligence
Chinese technology enterprises are playing an increasingly prominent role in the process of globalization, but they also face a series of challenges.
President Chen provided an in-depth analysis of the importance and potential risks of the Middle East market from a political and economic perspective, shared effective methods on how to identify, assess and manage geopolitical risks, and stressed the importance of establishing compliance management systems, strengthening government relations and localization in overseas markets. By analyzing a series of success and failure cases, Dean Chen provided valuable practical knowledge for the entrepreneurs present.
Sharing Theme 2: "Economic Development Trends in the UAE"
Sharing Tutor: Professor Chai, Professor of International Relations, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University of Sharjah, UAE
The present is the future, survival is development, global is local, ability is opportunity. Professor Chai was talking about economic trends in the UAE, and what opportunities do these changes provide for Chinese companies that want to go overseas in the Middle East today? He pointed out that these countries are now very friendly to China and the Chinese people, from the government to the private level. In the process of economic reform and industrialization, just like China in the 1980s and 1990s, these countries are further unleashing vitality, and enterprises have opportunities and "jobs". And the local also has a certain ability to pay, so Chinese enterprises to go to the local project, do trade or cooperation investment is good, the return and profit are good.
However, the specific situation of each industry and each country is not the same, and not every company can make money in the Middle East. If you really want to develop in the Middle East, you still need to be prepared for long-term cultivation, and to understand the local business culture, establish a better profit model, and avoid a series of risks and pitfalls.
Share Theme 3: Huawei Middle East strategic layout and how to release digital productivity
Share tutor: Huawei Cloud wheat General Manager
Huawei McMaster, the world's leading ICT infrastructure and intelligent terminal provider, shared its key insights on 5G commercialization in the Middle East, extending from the background of Huawei's strategic transformation and upgrading, systematically explaining how to identify opportunities for future development of enterprises, and analyzing enterprises' strategic planning and 0-1 landing strategy. Interpret the development path of enterprises from opportunity growth to strategic growth, system growth, and ability growth, connect strategy to organization, and help entrepreneur students grasp the action guide for long-term evolutionary growth of enterprises.
4 Dive into the local culture and history and greet each morning with a run
One Thousand and One Nights UAE is a place of miraculous blend of Arabic mathematics, architecture and aesthetics, and we also took students on an in-depth experience of the Middle East and Arab culture.
Facing the rising sun, the students started an energetic day with running, a sport that is beneficial to the body and mind, and measured the time of a city with their footsteps!
Eat a special afternoon tea at the Mohammed Cultural Understanding Center, and listen to the locals explain Arabic food culture, traditional costumes, and etiquette culture. At this time, Chinese International quietly prepared a small surprise for the students, sending each student to a costume with Arabic characteristics to start an immersive exotic journey.
Visit the Golden Street, Spice Street and Iranian Town in Old Dubai, taste Middle Eastern food, and check in the most beautiful Starbucks in the world!
A visit to the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque is a magnificent and tranquil experience. Walk through the sprawling white complex, its ornate decorations and massive domes that are breathtaking, where holiness and magnificence merge in all the details of world excellence.
Be amazed by the soul of the Middle East - the luxurious presidential palace in Abu Dhabi! The milky white exterior is very low-key, but the interior is resplendent with gold! Walking through it, you can see the luxury of Ambilight everywhere, and inside the palace, you can see the world's largest crystal lamp, which is handmade from 60,000 crystals, shining like a starry sky. It is said that even the faucets and tissue boxes in the toilets are made of pure gold.
On March 8th, the Goddess Day, on this special day, Chinese International specially prepared flowers for the ladies in the team, conveyed emotions with the fragrance of flowers, and sent them beautiful holiday wishes.
This trip to the UAE and New Middle East not only provided the participants with a wealth of knowledge and experience, but also prompted them to think more deeply about the challenges and opportunities faced by enterprises going overseas.
For Chinese companies that want to enter the Middle East, it is important to realize that Chinese companies do not have a first-mover advantage compared to European and American companies that have been working here for decades, so they need to find market breakthroughs and learn local laws and social rules. At the same time, we also see that Middle Eastern countries are actively embracing advanced digital technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, 5G, cloud computing, and the Internet of Things, which are reshaping the global political and economic landscape.
The future has come, and Huazhi International will help you gain a global vision, cognitive practice, and resource links!
Enterprise study tour, just look for the Chinese system!
