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MENA Development Partners LLC
MENA Development Partners LLC
Developing successful business relationships in the Middle East.
**NEW - Collaborative research project on fracking.**
Doing Business in the Middle East
Doing Business in the Middle East
Blog
"Frack You!" "What the Frack?" "Frack-off!"
Posted on September 22, 2013 at 10:59 PM |
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"Frack You!" "What the Frack?" "Frack-off!"
These are some of the phrases I found when I first started to explore the business implications of fracking. There are a lot of sites dedicated to the evils of fracking. Many of the major energy companies have sections on all the positives of fracking. There are even sites that show the two groups fighting it out. What I could not find was anyplace that had unbiased, research-based, educated information on the topic. I know a lot of people. I know a lot of people in academia, I know a lot of people in business, I know a lot of people across the world, I even know a few Heads of State but the bottom line is, I know some really smart people... so couldn't I pull together some of these people to find out "What the Frack"? |
Saudi job market and Expat changes - part 2
Posted on May 17, 2013 at 11:58 AM |
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So tomorrow (Saturday, 18 May 2013) is the day that Saudi
officials will start the expat exit process for those who want to leave the
Kingdom. This entire process, from announcement to implementing has been
worrisome for both the expats themselves and the employers they are working
for. The end of the three-month grace period is 3 July, so there is still a bit
of time for some to figure out what road they will take. Most of the affected
expats come from high poverty countries like India, Pakistan, the Philippines,
Ethiopia and Yemen. If I understand this correctly, under Saudi law, iqama
requires all foreign residents to sponsord by either a Saudi company or an
individual. After the initial announcement, some workers have opt to not go to
work to dodge spot inspections. The Saudi government has decided to enforce
stricter quotas as historically the rule
about expats only working for their sponsor been predominately disregarded. One
of the main reasons this is now being enforced is to close a loophole that permitted
companies to get around sharing how many
Saudi nationals they employ. (If I have this wrong, please feel free to comment
below.)
.
The aim is to tackle the unemployment issue amongst Saudi nationals by getting
more Saudis into private sector jobs and to help preserve Saudi workers However, what is not
being addressed by the changes (and again, if I am wrong, please feel free to
comment) is that Saudis demand higher wages than expats from developing nations
and the local labor laws make it very difficult to fire the Saudi nationals. As
I mentioned in yesterday’s post, many Saudi nationals are not qualified for the
jobs and feel that the positions available are “below them”. The Kingdom has a significant “black market” for cheap expat
labor. What has happened to fuel this demand, many expats are registered with
one company, as a “cover”, but then work for another. Many of these “black
market” expats fear that by coming forward and requesting to change sponsors
will not be granted. As a double whammy, the companies they work for do not
want to officially hire more expat workers. As of today, The Labor Ministry denies reports that it
is enforcing immediate deportations, but people who lose their official residency
status must leave the Kingdom. However, across Saudi Arabia, the affected
workers have been telling stories of spot inspections and sudden deportations. The
regulations were announced last year, the government announced in March that it
would start enforcing the changes with spot inspections. With the deadline of July 3 approaching, these Illegal workers
here are trying to make as much money as possible before they either report and
change their status or go home. They are dodging officials because they know if
they get caught, they are sent home. My concern, as someone investing in the success of non-Saudi
companies coming into the Kingdom for these massive construction projects is
that in order for them to be done on-time and on-budget, these workers are
needed. Some believe this is a passing trend and that the situation will work
itself out It will be interesting to see
how it plays-out and how much actually changes. |
Saudi Arabia's Economic Cities Continued
Posted on April 12, 2013 at 9:36 PM |
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All of Saudi's new Economic Cities are being built with strong environmental specifications. One of the key ideas around building these cities is to create private sector opportunities (via jobs, new businesses, new ways of living as well as private investment opportunities. King Abdullah Economic City (KAEC) is divided into six main components:
KAEC is the only one of the new cities that does not center around a specific industry. It is in an ideal for diverse commerce because of its location on the coast of the Red Sea.
Near the holy mosque of the Prophet, in Medinah is the Knowledge Economic City. Interesting, particularly given its proximity to the holy mosque, this city is planned around Islamic themes, Islamic civilization studies and eventually a theme-park based around the Prophet and Islam. Medinah will also have science, health & medical, technical and other colleges. This Economic City should have a population of around 200,000. (With that kind of population & the tourist and holy attractions, hotels and retail are also being planned.)
On the Red Seat in the southwestern part of the kingdom will be the largest of the new Economic cities, Jazan. Jazan's industry will be the more labor-centric, focusing on things like energy, agriculture, commercial fishing (both packaging and distribution). And of course, in Jazan, given their location on the Red Sea, there will include (my favorite), water desalination plants and power distribution centers. These are all very aggressive initiatives. It takes significant and long-term commitment to growth (both through population and economic) and innovation by both the government and the private sector. These initiatives could not happen in a country that did not have serious money to invest in the infrastructure and development of these cities. We need to applaud the progress in the Kingdom and hopefully when we come out of the economic toilet in the US & Europe, we too will be able to take-on such aggressive projects to also see cities of the future. |
Saudi Arabia’s Four New Economic Cities
Posted on April 10, 2013 at 5:27 PM |
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MEGA Construction Projects in the Middle East
Posted on April 4, 2013 at 12:32 PM |
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Mega construction projects in the Middle East are once again on the uptick. While many of these mega projects are government funded, there are some that are results of foreign investment. Because of this, the construction industry across the Middle East is experiencing a marked resurgence & economic boom again. I am particularly intrigued by the new economic cities in Saudi being built under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah:
But these mega projects are not just happening in Saudi Arabia, they also include the Al Maktoum International Airport, and the Abu Dhabi Islands. There is also an increased interest including tourism, health care, education and renewable energy (which I will be talking about in my next blog!) |
25 Top Construction Companies in Saudi Arabia
Posted on April 1, 2013 at 3:37 PM |
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Since so much of MENA Development Partners' focus is on the Saudi construction industry, I found this article in this week's edition of ConstructionWeekOnline.com.
Saudi Arabia’s most important construction companies. Compiled by Construction Week and Venture Middle East. Who are the key companies behind one of the biggest national redevelopment programmes in the world? The Big 25 List shows the companies that are constructing the new
kingdom, from roads and railways to the hundreds of thousands of new
homes and complete industrial and medical cities. The list is dominated by family-run firms like the Saudi Binladin
Group and Saudi Oger, both of which have held their place for decades
and still secure the largest projects. However, the last few years have also seen a proliferation of
fast-growing local firms along with joint ventures between KSA
contractors and international companies. With the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia only faltering slightly during the
economic crisis and in the wake of heady government investment across
sectors the market is in many ways more fiercely contested than ever. The 25 contractors listed below are ranked in order of founding year in the field of contracting in the Kingdom. Saudi's Big 25
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Saudi construction sector needs companies with experience - why won't anyone go??
Posted on March 21, 2013 at 6:34 PM |
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With almost as much as US $300 billion worth of infrastructure projects – including things like water desalination plants, power plants, roads and highways as well as like schools and hospitals and sea ports– the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is planning, designing, bidding & constructing to ramp-up to be the "Saudi Arabia of the Future" by 2020. With this massive undertaking, there is a great need in the construction sector for companies with experience in these kinds of large-scale projects. So the question I am asking... where are these companies going to come from and how do we get them connected with the Saudi officials to learn about their capabilities? Transportation (rail, metro, roads, bridges) projects alone such as account for at least US $175 billion. Water & power are approximately US $59 billion. Health care and education and similar types projects the same approximate US $59. Who is going to help make these aggressive projects happen? As an American (and Capitalist), all I can think of is, "what the heck, why are American companies not running as fast as they can to get a piece of the action??" The American economy STINKS, all these jobs and projects that have been promised by the current administration when elected the first time & again the second told us all about these great new construction & infrastructure opportunities for American companies. (This blog is not intended to be political and my opinions are a bit more than transparent, sorry!) But let's face it, these projects just ain't happening. Okay, so getting back to all these humungous (and already funded) projects in Saudi & American construction companies sending folks over in hoards but that is just not happening either. Even the strongest US construction companies who offer the best projects in everything from hospitals to roads to power plants have NO DESIRE TO do business there. They might having a few chats and then politely explain this is not an area they want to do business in. What is baffling to me is, there is no business here... why not give it a shot. |
More on Water Desalination
Posted on March 18, 2013 at 8:24 PM |
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In my continued fascination (okay, obsession) with learning about water desalination in the Middle East, I saw today that the Governor of Riyadh is launching a 1.6 Saudi Riyals water desal effort. What makes this one so interesting is that he has VERY AGGRESSIVELY planned the project, which is normally an 18-month time frame into a 6-month window. I hope they have some amazing project managers who work well together, realize the importance of the project time-line and who speak-up when necessary to ensure that the project does not fail. I really hope that someone invests in Joseph Grenny's books/ CDs on "Silence Fails" before they start the project on April 6th! I found this very interesting article by George Pitagorsky he states that "It is usually when the project is over or under managed that we have failures. Common project management causes of failure are:
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Saudi vs UAE Construction Investment
Posted on March 17, 2013 at 10:36 AM |
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Clearly, there is a big difference between KSA and UAE; KSA is a much bigger
market and there are many more opportunities there these days. Not only
in terms of size but in terms of growth potential. In the next few
years KSA offers significantly more prospects than any other place in
the world right now, in terms of the construction industry. It is not a market to be ignored by any global construction companies. The
KSA government budget, recently announced, makes the best projects
available in the 1st three months or so after the budget. Thus, right
now is the best time to enter Saudi or ramp-up business development opportunities if there is already a presence in the Kingdom. Basically it doesn't
make any sense for a large scale construction company to not be present
in KSA and be in UAE, where the prospects are comparatively
non-existent, these days. |
Water Desalination Projects in Middle East
Posted on March 15, 2013 at 10:50 AM |
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Categories
- What the frack (1)
- Saudi Economic Cities (2)
- Rabigh (2)
- PABMEC Hael (2)
- King Abdullah Economic City (2)
- KEC Medinah (2)
- Jazan Ecnomic City (2)
- Foreign investment in Saudi (2)
- wind power (1)
- solar power (1)
- hafiz saudi program (2)
- Nitaqat (2)
- Research on fracking (1)
- Hydraulic Fracturing (1)
- Fracking (1)
- Frack you (1)
- Frack off (1)
- Doing business in the Middle East (2)
- Expats in Saudi (1)
- Expatriates being forced out of Saudi (1)
- Unemployment in Saudi Arabia (2)
- solar in Saudi (2)
- saudi power needs (2)
- ka-care (1)
- sanctions (1)
- pipeline iran pakistan (1)
- peace middle east (2)
- pakistan elections (1)
- Dubai construction (2)
- water supply problem (3)
- water purification (3)
- Water Desalination (4)
- Saudi construction (9)
- project management (2)
- Need for construction companies (2)
- Saudi business (9)
- Middle Eastern finance (2)
- Finance in Middle East (4)
- women's rights (2)
- women in the middle east (2)
- women in businss (3)
- violence against women (2)
- UN Women (2)
- US construction companies (2)
- Construction (11)
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