Doing business in Saudi Arabia

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is the largest market in the Arabian Gulf region and, despite current political and economic uncertainties, offers investors and exporters many opportunities in a wide variety of business sectors. Key factors driving economic policy include the desire to reduce the dependence on oil, and the need to provide jobs, housing, and services to citizens in a time of rapid population growth. The foreign investment law of 2000 significantly changed the rules for foreign investors, permitting 100% ownership of projects. There is a streamlined foreign investment application process with various investment incentives. Important policies are privatization, economic diversification (such as the development of a tourism sector), and the education and training of Saudi workers. Although lifestyle in the kingdom is ultramodern and high‐tech, Saudi Arabia is an extremely conservative country and many of its citizens desire to preserve their religious values and ancient traditions. The Saudi culture is influenced by two dimensions: Islam and the Bedouin tradition. Foreign executives doing business in Saudi Arabia must be prepared to conduct thorough preliminary research, visit the kingdom regularly, show genuine concern for Saudi development goals and culture, be patient in business negotiations, and adapt carefully to the Saudi environment. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Economic upheaval in the Gulf region

The six countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council face similar economic and political problems: falling oil revenues, growing budget deficits and increased demands on their foreign resources, a one-sided economic structure and increased pressure by public opinion for political rights. Their approaches to finding solutions have varied. Will these approaches be adequate to exploit the economic potential of the region in the future? Improvements in certain areas give ground for optimism.     

US National Security and Foreign Direct Investment

This article examines US foreign investment policy in the historical and current security contexts and provides an analytical discussion on the trends in foreign investment review on national security grounds. It finds that the concept of national security has been gradually broadened to include economic security, critical infrastructure, and homeland security as components of national security. This has allowed the foreign investment review process to become highly politicized. The article concludes that national security is far too important to be mixed with domestic political debates on economic and social concerns from foreign takeovers. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

World economic slowdown

In the course of last year, the economic climate cooled down world-wide; it was placed under additional strain in late summer by the Gulf crisis. In some industrialized countries, especially the USA, recessive trends have recently gained prevalence. Do indications for 1991 therefore point to a downturn in the world economy?     

Change in climate for foreign invesment in India

In 1991, India's Socialist economy hit its nadir. The pressures of the Gulf War had prompted a run on Indian foreign exchange reserves and forced Indian to seek loans from the IMF and World Bank to bail out the economy. Since then, economic and structural reforms have strenghtened India and made it more attractive to foreign investment. The convertability of the rupee, higher thresholds for foreign ownership, lower customs duties and the abolition of industry licencing have eliminated old investment stumbling blocks. These reforms have made India, says Thomas, an even better investment prospect than China, India's new rival.     

Note: Dealing with Iraq’s foreign indebtedness

Iraq now faces a growing economic crisis, which is impoverishing the country and threatening its basic social fabric. The crisis is partly the result of decades of mismanagement on the part of the Iraqi government. It is also the result of massive overspending and foreign borrowing during the Iran–Iraq War and the Gulf War. This article investigates Iraq’s debt crisis and attempts to devise a pragmatic debt‐management strategy, which could pos‐sibly lead to solving this acute problem. The four‐pillar strategy introduced here, if well implemented, would not only obliterate the debt, but could more importantly set the scene for Iraq’s return to its place in the international community with a renewed political and economic stability. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

加入WTO后中国利用外资问题探析

加入WTO后 ,外资流入我国的规模会更大 ,外资的来源、产业投向、地域流向和投资方式会有一些新的变化、新的趋势。为此 ,我国利用外资的政策和策略也应作相应的调整 ,这样才能使我国利用外资的水平和质量上一个新的台阶 ,使外资在我国经济发展中发挥更大的作用。     

Islamic finance and market segmentation: Implications for the cost of capital

This paper considers the impact of full Islamic shari’ya compliance on developing stock exchanges in their effective provision of development capital. Evidence from a unique study focussing on the Sudan telecommunications company and its listings on the Khartoum as well as Arabian Gulf stock exchanges reveals that costs of capital are considerably higher in the former than latter markets. While there are firm governance benefits arising from Islamic finance monitoring costs are substantial and the banking system is better placed to administer financing arrangements. Larger firms are better placed to circumvent this segmentation through cross-listing on regional exchanges.     

Financial flows to mexico: implications for foreign investors

The 1994–1995 Mexican peso crisis occurred with the presence there of a “new” financial force, namely nonbank private funds. Mexico's economic reforms have in recent years led to massive amounts of highly liquid (and volatile) foreign capital inflows. As the country further embraces market-based principles, long- and short-term capital will flow at an even larger scale across its border, subjecting providers as well as recipients to greater risks. This paper examines the trends in both the “traditional” as well as the “new” forms of capital inflows for the period 1981–1996. Our analysis should help the two sides of this issue: foreign investors to be better prepared in managing future economic challenges, and emerging economies—including several in Southeast Asia that suffered Mexican-style exchange-rate crises in 1997—to implement more appropriate policies, especially as they pertain to currency stability.     

Interculturality as a source of organisational positivity in expatriate work teams: An exploratory study

This study explored the issues related to interculturality and organisational positivity in culturally diverse teams (CDTs). The findings showed that interculturality in the expatriate settings of the Arabian Gulf is linked to organisational positivity, the manifestations of which include enjoyment, relationship building through concerted efforts to learn about others, and family‐like work environments. Interculturality‐driven organisational positivity is posited to encourage humanistic management, the attributes of which are sensitivity to human suffering, open‐mindedness, fairness, and respect. Organisational positivity is also theorised to improve CDT performance and stimulate professional and personal learning. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

The Economies of the Baltic Sea Region: Growth Patterns and Foreign Trade Now and in the Future

The article studies the economic growth patterns of the Baltic Sea Region countries, describes their gross domestic product trends, and predicts the future developments. As foreign trade is one characteristic of interrelationships between the countries, the geographical pattern of foreign trade is analyzed, especially emphasizing the linkages between the countries in the Baltic Sea Region. The article pays attention also to the perspectives in the 2025 time framework and ends with some comments regarding the conditions for future development.     

The evolving investment climate in Vietnam and subsequent challenges to foreign investors

Executive Summary Vietnam's evolving reform process is gaining momentum. Vietnam's Communist Party, however, continues to maintain strong control over economic affairs. Foreign companies with commercial expectations typically are forced into partnership with State instruments responsible for implementation of economic policy. Conflict is inevitable and many difficulties between the partners can be traced to fundamental differences in motivation between foreign investors and Vietnamese authorities. The authors analyze official policy statements and historical trends, examine some Joint Ventures to provide insights into the nature and source of these conflicts, and conclude with a discussion and implications for managers and foreign investors. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

浅析全球经贸关系热点——双边FTA

区域经济一体化是近年来世界经济发展的重要趋势之一。其中双边FTA（自由贸易协定）以其独特的优势成为许多国家开拓对外经济合作的重要选择。本文通过对双边FTA发展态势、发展原因和作用的分析，力图对当前双边FTA态势作出诠释。     

水性油墨发展综述

文章参考中国油墨相关书籍及国外相关期刊杂志,从水性油墨发展的历史、技术发展概况、应用概况,经济概况、技术发展动态和发展趋势对水性油墨进行了综述,对中国的水性油墨的发展历史,现状,及存在的问题进行了简单的分析,使人们对水性油墨有所了解。     

物流联盟：我国第三方物流企业的发展路径

面对经济全球化趋势和加入WTO后国外大型物流企业抢滩国内市场，我国第三方物流企业能否生存并发展壮大，其重要途径就是实现物流企业的战略联盟：整合资源优势，降低交易费用，增强企业核心竞争力，实现规模经济。本文从经济学入手对物流联盟的实施可行性予以分析，并提出我国第三方物流企业组成物流联盟的方式。     

Assessments of selected foreign suppliers by Saudi importers: Implications for exporters

Importing intermediaries' evaluations of alternative suppliers play a significant role in export success. This paper reports on a systematic study of Saudi Arabian importers' assessments of suppliers from four leading exporting countries — the U.S.A., Japan, England, and Taiwan. Importing middlemen are extremely important to a foreign company's success in penetrating the lucrative Saudi market. Therefore, a better understanding of how favorably these middlemen view alternative suppliers is essential for any exporter to this market.     

Deutschlands Exportüberschuss auf dem Weg zu neuen Höchstständen — eine Projektion bis 2017

The economic and fi nancial crisis in 2009 triggered a stronger collapse in German exports compared to imports, with the high external surplus falling considerably. By now, global trade has recovered. The authors have calculated trends in German foreign trade, using a gravitation model. Based on IMF forecasts of global economic performance, the projections show that Germany’s export surplus looks set to reach new highs in the medium term.     

The Geographic,Political, and Economic Context for Corporate Social Responsibility in Brazil

This paper provides an overview of corporate social responsibility in Brazil, a country of vast regional and economic differences. Despite abundant natural resources and centers of advanced technology, large numbers of Brazilians live in poverty. Historical factors, which to some extent explain Brazil’s social and economic inequalities – a long period of colonialism, followed by populist reform, repressive military measures, foreign debt, unfair trade agreements, and problems of corruption – have persisted into the current period of democratic reform, marked by economic and political trends toward democratization and corporate social responsibility. This paper considers the civic and business organizations that have been developing strategies to encourage social responsibility and government policies aimed at alleviating poverty. Despite progress, the complexity of the Brazilian context presents challenges for social and economic equality. Margaret Ann Griesse holds a Ph.D. in Education and International Development from the University of Frankfurt. She is currently Coordinator of the Martha Watts Cultural Center at the Methodist University of Piracicaba, Brazil.     

Teaching Applied Macro in Emergent Economies: Lessons From Bahrain

In this article we explore the challenges of adapting a standard introductory MBA course in applied macroeconomics to a student audience in a small open economy with a pegged currency. Our focus will be on the Kingdom of Bahrain, with reference to other countries in the Arabian Gulf region, where one would expect to use an open-economy theoretical course structure focused on the role of trade in the economy and the interaction of exchange rates and currency movements with that trade. Based on our experience in DePaul University's AACSB-accredited MBA program in Bahrain, we find that structuring the course content around open-economy macroeconomics requires a background in theoretical models which are beyond the time constraints of an MBA core curriculum. Alternatively, we consider how well a standard applied macroeconomic curriculum of output determination, business cycles, and monetary and fiscal policy can be adapted to students in the Gulf. We discuss how our approach is fraught with challenges which are both curricular and cultural.     

Investment banking in the gulf: A case study of investcorp in bahrain

Investcorp is a low-profile investment banking company that was originally founded on the tiny island of Bahrain in the Arabian Gulf. Although little known to the general public, the company is a major player in North American and European investment markets. This case study presents a profile of the company, its founder, Nemir Kirdar, and his three “founding friends.” It relates details of the company's successes and explores how these were achieved. As most of the original Management Committee members are preparing to retire, efforts are being made to ensure the continuing prosperity of the company. This requires the risky step of appointing an almost completely new management team. Readers are invited to reflect on the likely success of this strategy and whether Investcorp's focus on North America and Europe remains appropriate in a global marketplace.