French small to medium sized businesses to expand to the UAE

Strong ties between the UAE and French government and UAE's consistency in increasingly attracting foreign direct investments into the country through factors such as the UAE's growing status as a regional economic and trade hub, its economic and political stability, its free market approach to business, and the availability of advanced infrastructure, have helped the Conseil General to consider the UAE as the base for its French Enterprises and entrepreneurs in the Middle East.

FDI inflows of US$12bn were seen in 2005, the UAE accounts for 34% of total FDI to all Middle East countries, and France wants to compete to contribute a larger share of this investment, and these are some of the reasons why the decision was made by the French Government to help SME's with their international development.

Solving International won the contract to help the French Enterprises to start and develop business in the UAE and the Middle East because of the company's capabilities and proven track record, its partnership with the UAE top businesses including HCT-CERT and its development as an international business advisor to top investment firms in Abu Dhabi and Dubai.

"The Stabilization of the Euro as an international currency and the availability of capital over the last few years have been driving forces for European firms to be more competitive in international markets and incentives for them to seek out greater international development.

'The UAE is a target market for French businesses as it is the most attractive market in the region benefiting from investment and strong and steady growth, the UAE has become a center of goods and services for a regional sphere of almost 1 billion people. UAE firms need to look upon this influx of outside businesses as an opportunity for them to strengthen their offerings and leverage their competitive advantages," Says Ziad Al Askari, partner at Solving International Middle East.

The Hauts de Seine is one of the most active economic hubs in France from an export and international business development perspective. While overall French exports grew 4% over the year 2005, the Hauts de Seine managed to achieve 36% growth over the same period. The Hauts de Seine is in Paris and concentrates on small and medium businesses in and around the Paris Suburbs which accounts for 43% of all the research and development minds of France and more than 75% of the professional services in the country.

Currently 51% of the export activity of the Hauts de Seine is concentrated in the European Union, because French Small to Medium sized firms lack the power and experience to venture too far beyond their borders. The Hauts de Seine will now help these companies to expand internationally so that the government organization can expand its exports to the world, and not just to the EU. Hauts de Seine's Middle East exports account for only 6.4% of their total.

"Accessibility to new markets such as the Middle East become increasingly complex due to geographical distance, language and cultural barriers, however we believe that with this initiative, known as CG92 in the French Government, and the help of companies like Solving International, in the Middle East and other regions of the globe, there will be a significant increase of exports and direct investment from French companies over the next 5 years," adds Jean Veillon, Chairman of Solving International.

The Hauts de Seine's budget for promoting international development is approximately 4 million euros per annum. The budget will mainly be spent on helping the small and medium sized businesses to acquire international local experience and expertise through export contracts, communication with international bodies of business like the Chambers of Commerce and the French Business Groups in different countries, and development of international partnerships and advisory on the best markets and businesses to enter, through local consulting offices like that of Solving International Middle East in the UAE.

"The scope of our assignment with the French Government represents approximately 4000 small to medium sized businesses, these companies are highly specialized with added value in the B2B services and technologies in diversified industries such as the general professional services, Chemical, construction, automotive, retail, pharmaceutical and specialized medical equipment industries," says Rabih Chehouri, Managing Partner of Solving International Middle East.

Given their size and their relatively short decision making processes, the French Small and medium sized businesses are expected to start their investments and take advantage of opportunities quite quickly.

Rabih Chehouri adds, "Our mission is to advise them on their development strategy in the UAE. We will design a key competitive success formula for them based on their factors of differentiation and added values, we will help them identify and communicate with potential local partners capable of complementing their offering, we will recommend a transfer of break-through technologies whenever possible through vehicles like HCT-CERT or other centers of excellence to ensure sustainable value creation and create opportunities for UAE nationals and entrepreneurs."