The Alliance in Dubai

Dubai fashion

noreply@blogger.com (Portland Business Alliance) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:51:00 +0000

Dubai fashion, originally uploaded by Portland Business Alliance.

The women dressed modestly, with gowns over their clothing called abaya and scarves called shaila. The young women made fashion statements of their own with what they wore under their black gowns...it wasn't unusual to see skinny jeans or leggings peaking out from under the gowns, and the young women often wore fancy stilletto heals and bright belts, and they almost always carried costly designer purses.

Tasty Middle Eastern food

noreply@blogger.com (Portland Business Alliance) — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 20:49:00 +0000

Tasty Middle Eastern food, originally uploaded by Portland Business Alliance.

As an international city, Dubai features cuisine from every part of the world but there still are glimpses of native foods, in the wonderful mezzehs, familar to all of us at home who frequent Middle Eastern restaurants, and the ubiquitous grilled lamb and chicken.

Back home and reflections

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra McDonough) — Sat, 13 Mar 2010 18:08:00 +0000

We flew home on Friday, March 12, and, thanks again to my colleague Steve Falk in San Francisco, we were upgraded to business class. It's a 16-hour flight from Dubai to San Francisco, and that upgrade is worth a lot!

Dubai was a phenomenal experience. I can't say enough about the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, which hosted us so well. For six straight days, the Dubai Chamber staff looked after our group of more than 40 American Chamber executives/tourists, and it was quality all the way, whether we were touring The Palm, Dubai's famous island development, or visiting the desert for four-wheel adventures, camel rides and henna tatoos. The generosity of the Chamber was amazing.

Thanks also to the American Council of Chamber Executives for making the trip possible for me and my chamber leader colleagues across the country. Chris Mead and Chaaron Pearson of ACCE did a great job of keeping us all organized.

On one of our last business days, we spent time with the Dubai Chamber leaders and some leaders from their sister chambers in other emirates. Managing a chamber presents universal challenges and opportunities, we learned. All of us, UAE or US, focused on what we need to do to provide value to members and how we can best advocate for our members' needs before government. Right now, chamber membership is mandatory for many businesses in Dubai (but not businesses in the free zones), and that puts them in a pretty good financial situation. But they look to a day when membership might not be mandatory, and they were thoughtful about what it would take to provide sufficient value to make companies WANT to be members of the chamber - very similar to what all of us in the US deal with every day.

On another day, we had the opportunity to meet business members of the Dubai Chamber, and that was a phenomenal experience. They talked about doing business in Dubai, the opportunities and the challenges. Clearly, all of them saw huge opportunity there, and they encouraged more American business to find opportunities to be in Dubai and all of the Middle East.

Some final thoughts about my Dubai experience:

The People. Only about 15 percent of Dubai's inhabitants are native, which makes this the most international city I have ever traveled to. Some 200 countries are represented here, and you see that every single day on the streets, through company names, languages that are spoken, native dress and so many other ways. As the vice chairman of the Dubai Chamber, Hisham Al Shirawi, told us, "Dubai is as the world should be." Many nationalities working together, peacefully and coorperatively. The Dubai people, across the board, were kind and accommodating. This is a place that knows it relies on the rest of the world for its economic prosperity, and they work hard to build positive relationships.

Education. An amazing fact - so many of the native Arabs we met had studied in the U.S. And not necessarily at big-name universities. Colleges and universities from all over the U.S. were represented, includng Oregon schools. The head of DP World, Dubai's major trading company, went to the University of Portland. Portland State has some 2,000 alum in the Middle East, as well as education experiences for students in those countries. Is there a better way to build stronger relationships with these Middle Eastern countries than through these students with experience in our country? Many of the people we met talked about how their image of the U.S. and American citizens changed dramatically when they were here, just as our image of Arab nations changed as we got to know them.

The Dress. As a cosmopolitan, international city, Dubai shows itself with all kinds of national dress, from western mini skirts to conservative Middle Eastern garb. On our first day there, we learned about the Arabian garb we saw so frequently, including on our Chamber hosts. The men wore long robes, called kandora, with head scarfs called qetra. The women dressed modestly, with gowns over their clothing called abaya and scarves called shaila. The men were mostly in white, but occasionally their robes were blue, brown, gold or green. The scarves were almost always white, but the pieces that held them in placed were black or red and white. The women's gowns and scarves were always black, but they were frequently decorated with sparkles or colors. We learned that the clothing colors and styles were not dictated by religion (althought Islam teaches women to dress modestly), but rather they reflected traditional native dress and personal style. The young women, we noticed, made fashion statements of their own with what they wore under their black gowns...it wasn't unusual to see skinny jeans or leggings peaking out from under the gowns, and the young women often wore fancy stilletto heals and bright belts, and they almost always carried costly designer purses. In Dubai, the Nike people told me, high-end designer apparel is the fashion of choice, and we saw a lot of it.

Shopping. In the summer, it gets as hot as 130 degrees Fahrenheit, so it is no wonder that Dubai stores have moved inside. We saw few street fairs...but the malls were highly developed. Dubai boasts, of course, the largest mall in the world, the Dubai Mall, which is at the foot of Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. And not far away is the Emirates Mall, also huge in scale and famous for its indoor ski slope (kept at about 25 degrees F). Every few miles there is another mall, equally grand. All of them include the big, global retailers familiar to us at home, incuding Nike and Columbia Sportswear. The first Bloomingdales ever to open outside of the U.S. is at the Dubai Mall, and by all accounts is doing well. But that doesn't mean retail is great in Dubai. While once going gangbusters, retail sales are flat - but that is pretty good compared to many U.S. locations which have seen retail lose ground. We saw some empty storefronts, particularly among small, independent shop owners, a sign that the global recession has hit here too.

The Recession. Our hosts made no effort to downplay the fact that Dubai was impacted by the global recession. In a city that once had 25 percent of all of the construction cranes in the world, Dubai's skyline is full of half-finished building, some with little or no activity now. Our hosts told us that work was slowed, but not stopped at the major projects. But outside of the city, we saw housing projects that clearly had been stopped. Dubai's financial problems are famous, but what we saw is a city that is enthusiastic about the future. When the time is right, they said, work will resume and Dubai will continue its quest to be the biggest and the best in everything.

Sustainable Development. The Dubai Chamber building was the first LEED certified building in the city, and more are following. But building LEED buildings in this hot, desert city is hard. Neighboring Abu Dhabi has developed its own conservation standards that reflect life in the desert. And in Dubai, Sheik Mohammed has decreed that all new buildings will be energy efficient. This is, said an American architect I met, a huge opportunity for U.S. architects knowledgeable about energy efficiency to find work in Dubai and help them build sustainably in away that works for a desert climate. In other areas, we heard a lot about Dubai's focus in building sustainably, including at The Palm, the island development they created off the coast for residential development. We will see how all of that turns out.

The Skyline. Dubai's skyline reminded me of Shanghai - so much new and interesting architecture. The building were spectacular - all unique and all interesting. Skyscraper after skyscraper has risen in this city, with Burj Khalifa towering over them all. Dubai clearly is the place to be for architects wanting to make a statement in design. But within the city are many old-fashioned mosques. What a contrast there is when you hear the call to prayer from these mosques, while standing among the modern skyscrapers and 21st-century architecture.

The Food. As an international city, Dubai features cuisine from every part of the world. You can pick up McDonalds or go to an authentic Indian restaurant. And there still are glimpses of native foods, in the wonderful mezzehs, familar to all of us at home who frequent Middle Eastern restaurants, and the ubiquitous grilled lamb and chicken. My one wish is that we had more opportunity to sample native foods in small, neighborhood restaurants.

Security. When we went to the Sheik's palace, we all marveled that we walked right in, subject to no metal detectors or pat-downs. How could this city be secure? Yet we learned that Dubai is one of the safest cities in the world. Security is everywhere, you just don't see it. The police are frequently invisible, but they are there. And cameras are everywhere. When I took a walk in the morning, I hesitated to go outside in the early morning dark (the sun doesn't rise until after 6 a.m.). But the hotel personnel assured me there were cameras on the walkway; I just didn't see them. Crime among Dubai residents is very low, possibly because the penalties are strict. I'm told people leave their cars running when they go into the shopping malls in the summer so that the air conditioning can run continuously. They have no fear that the car will be stolen, because that just doesn't happen there.

Leadership. Dubai is the result of the vision of one man, Sheik Mohammed. Everywhere we went we heard his vision for the city and the region repeated by leader after leader. One man told us that, when the Sheik has an idea, there is no saying no to it, whether it means building the tallest building in the world or creating fine resorts. While there have been bumps along the way, including fall out from the global recession, Dubai is a product of that vision and it shows the power that one person can have.

Dubai is a place I never thought about going to until I had this extraordinary opportunity made possible by the Dubai Chamber. I am so glad I went. This is an extraordinary city - a vision that rose out of desert sun. Is Dubai typical of the Middle East? Probably not, but it is an experience in and of itself, and it is city that will have a global impact for a long time to come.

Sandi in the Dubai desert

noreply@blogger.com (Portland Business Alliance) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 21:48:00 +0000

Sandi in the desert, originally uploaded by Portland Business Alliance.

The ACCE delegation enjoyed a relaxing last night watching the sun set in the desert, exploring the terrain in ATVs and riding camels. Sandra McDonough poses with next to a camel after her ride.

Send off dinner

noreply@blogger.com (Portland Business Alliance) — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 18:39:00 +0000

Thursday we went four-wheeling in the desert sand dunes and then I rode a camel. I am so glad they invented roads and cars. After that activity we gathered for our last dinner in Dubai.

A visit to the Nike office in Dubai

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra McDonough) — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 16:43:00 +0000

Thanks to board member Julia Brim-Edwards, I was lucky enough to visit Nike's office in Dubai. It is a small office, just six people, charged with establishing the Nike brand in the Middle East. Hard for us to imagine - Nike is not a strong brand here, having been preceded into the market by others. But under the leadership of Dan Frolec, who came to the Dubai office from Nike's Eastern Europe operations, they have set a goal to become the Number 1 sports brand by emphasizing Nike product innovation. They are focusing first on football (soccer to us), which is an established sport here, but are also building markets in sportswear, women's fitness and running. Sports marketing is not well developed here, so Nike is starting from the ground up at the grassroots level to build the culture and then the market, not just in Dubai, but across the Middle East including Saudi Arabia, Beirut and in the rest of the Emirates. They are dealing with cultural issues, such as the limits on marketing to women in Saudi Arabia and the fact that running is not a generally accepted sport here - yet.

Nike stores are in some of Dubai's top shopping malls. One, in the Emirates Mall, is one of the top performing non-Nike owned retail stores in the world.

Jebel Ali Port

noreply@blogger.com (Portland Business Alliance) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:30:00 +0000

Jebel Ali Port, originally uploaded by Portland Business Alliance.

A tour of the Jebel Ali Port

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra McDonough) — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 17:19:00 +0000

Tuesday. The Port. Coming from a port city, I knew the visit to Dubai's Jebel Ali Port would be a highlight of the trip. And it was. Like everything in Dubai, the scale of the port - and its vision for the future - is enormous. The Dubai port is the sixth largest in the world, with two terminals handling 14 million TEU per year. Their goal is to be among the top five ports in the world, preferably No. 1, and they are pushing to increase their annual capacity by 10 million TEU.

Facilitating the port growth is the Jebel Ali Free Zone, one of a few free trade zones in Dubai. Companies locating there have no taxes, no import-export fees, and all of the infrastructure they need to conduct trade successfully. The vision was to make Dubai the Middle East center for traded sector industries, and they have been successful. The free trade zone was launched in 1985 with 25 companies, and in 2010 had more than 6000 companies, including many familiar names. Some 250 US companies have Middle East operations based there, and 500 more have operations extending from other Asian offices.

At the helm of all this is DP World, Dubai's trade company established in 2005. DP World is one of the largest marine terminal operators, with 50 terminals and 11 developments in 32 countries. They have only one North American base, in Vancouver, BC. DP World is the company at the center of controversy some months ago when they purchased B&O Railroad. That purchase included port terminals in the US, but political pushback against a Middle Eastern company owning US port facilities caused DP World to back off.

The time was not right to own US facilities, said Mohammed Al-Muallem, the Senior VP and Managing Director of DP World in the UAE. But he made it clear that they will try again. In the meantime, their plan is to grow DP World and the Dubai port into the biggest in the world, in line with Dubai's manifest aspirations to be No. 1 in all things.

Mohammed Al-Muallem, by the way, studied at the University of Portland in the 1980s, and remembers Portland - and our rain - with fondness.

Delegation meets Sheikh Mohammed

noreply@blogger.com (Portland Business Alliance) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:10:00 +0000

sheikh_mohammed_delegation, originally uploaded by Portland Business Alliance.

UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum welcomes the trade delegation representing chambers of commerce and industry in 23 American states at Za'abeel Palace. The business leaders are in the UAE at the invitation of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

View from the 124th floor

noreply@blogger.com (Portland Business Alliance) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 21:50:00 +0000

View from the 124th floor, originally uploaded by Portland Business Alliance.

A view of Dubai City from the 124th floor of the Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world.

Starbucks in Dubai

noreply@blogger.com (Portland Business Alliance) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:43:00 +0000

Starbucks in Dubai, originally uploaded by Portland Business Alliance.

Burj Khalifa

noreply@blogger.com (Portland Business Alliance) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:42:00 +0000

Burj Khalifa, originally uploaded by Portland Business Alliance.

Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world, initially known as Burj Dubai (the Dubai Tower). The building stands at 161 floors, and includes offices, a hotel and residences.

What a place this is! Everyday, something new astonishes us

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra McDonough) — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 16:33:00 +0000

On Monday morning, we traveled to the Dubai Internationa Financial Center, another vision of Sheik Mohammed. In 2002, the sheik determined that for Dubai to be on the world stage, he needed to create a financial center that rivaled the largest in the world, New York, London and Tokyo. By 2004, he was ready to launch, with a financial center that had 19 companies participating and that operates under its own set of laws and its own courts. Today, in 2010 the Dubai IFC has more than 900 companies registered and works out of a multi-high rise complex of office buildings, retail and housing. It is, said CEO Abdulla Mohammed al Awar, a unique and stand-alone ecosystem within the city.

Dubai has not been untouched by the global recession. It was, said the Dubai IFC, a "wake up call" for everyone, that slowed some of the progess down. We see signs: construction on the multiple high rises with cranes has slowed down; there are empty storefronts in the massive, new Dubai mall (the largest in the world, they say), and shopkeepers tell us business is bad, hoping to lure us in for a deal.

The recession caused the huge Dubai convention center to put on hold plans to build a second, remote facility. Nonetheless, they completed an extension of their existing center, a project that took just six months to complete, from inception to readiness for the wedding of the sheik's daughter. They believe their convention center is the "busiest in the world" and told us it is busy all year. In 2009, business grew 12 percent, even with the recession.

Lastly on Monday, we went to Burj Khalifa, the tallest building in the world. Initially known as Burj Dubai (the Dubai Tower), the sheik surprised everyone when he renamed it after the president of Dubai at the opening in 2010. The building stands at 161 floors, and includes offices, a hotel and residences. Although it is not yet fully occupied, they told us the building is sold out. We went to the viewing platform on the 124th floor, and the view over the top of Dubai's other skyscrapers was fantastic, even with the haze caused by sandstorms in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

The Burj Khalifa story is a metaphor for all of Dubai. The sheik set out to build the tallest building in the world, with designers from Skidmore, Owings and Merrill out of Chicago. As the design was developed, they kept hearing about bigger building projects in other parts of the globe, so they kept revising upward. The height of the final project was not revealed until it was done.

By the way, Oregon's Warm Springs Composite Products supplied doors for the building, and Portland businessman Peter Krainock supplied materials for plumbing and other infrastructure through his company, American International Supply.

History of Dubai and meeting Sheik Mohammed

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra McDonough) — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 16:15:00 +0000

Sunday is a workday in the United Arab Emirates, and we had a full day. We started at the Dubai Chamber of Commerce, where we met with Director General Hamad Buamin and got background about this incredible city, which literally rose out of sand over the last 10 years.

Dubai has a population of 1.8 million but only 15 percent are natives; the rest are foreign nationals who come here to work. The national language is Arabic, but the language of commerce is English and everybody speaks it. The Dubai story is amazing. Over the last 10 years, two-way trade between the U.S. and UAE grew from about $3 billion to $15 billion, and oil is just a small part of it. Some 750 American companies do business here, according to the U.S. consul general here, and 20,000 Americans live here. Oregon companies like Nike, Otak, CH2MHill and Columbia Sportswear all have a presence here. Dubai was built with one premise: to attract business and build a robust economy, so they have instituted attractive trade and tax policy to make it happen. And they have been successful. They tell us they have 0 percent unemployment. The government gives top priority to hiring nationals. Foreigners who don't have jobs apparently do not stay.

In the afternoon, we had the extraordinary opportunity to meet Sheik Mohammed, the ruler of Dubai and a leader in the UAE government. Sheik Mohammed's family has ruled here for 200 years. He was the man with the vision that created Dubai, and he is clearly pleased with the results. A low-key man who received us at his palace in traditional white Arabian robes, the sheik told us his philosophy is that when you do something, you make the necessary investment to do it right. And he certainly has. His next focus: education in developing countries. That, he said, is key to achieving peace.

DCCI Director General Hamad Buamin

noreply@blogger.com (Portland Business Alliance) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 21:58:00 +0000

DCCI_leader
Originally uploaded by Portland Business Alliance

The Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) Director General Hamad Buamin.

Jumeirah Beach Hotel

noreply@blogger.com (Portland Business Alliance) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:30:00 +0000

Jumeirah_Beach_Hotel, originally uploaded by Portland Business Alliance.

16 hours later

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra McDonough) — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 15:25:00 +0000

Friday started with a short hop on Horizon Air to San Francisco, where I connected with Emirates Air. Luckily, I was upgraded to business class for the 16-hour flight, which included two complete sunsets. I arrived in at Dubai's brand-new international air terminal at about 6:30 pm Saturday (6:30 a.m. Saturday in Portland). Dubai’s airport is the sixth busiest airport in the world. Upon arrival, our very gracious hosts from the Dubai Chamber of Commerce greeted us. A short ride to the beautiful Jumeirah Beach Hotel took us through the city center, which has a tremendous skyline including the tallest building in the world. Can't wait to start the tour tomorrow!

48 hours until take-off!

noreply@blogger.com (Sandra McDonough) — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:08:00 +0000

I am so excited to be heading to Dubai in less than two days; I leave Friday morning! I have one stopover in San Francisco, then a 16-hour flight straight to Dubai. The Dubai Chamber has put together a week of activities for us, which starts Sunday morning. On Sunday we'll have a welcome briefing, a tour of the largest bank in the region (Emirates NBD), lunch in the oldest area of Dubai followed by a tour of Old Dubai, and dinner at one of the trademarks of Dubai, the Burj Al Arab Hotel. I am especially looking forward to my visit to Nike in Dubai, which will happen next Wednesday. Stay tuned to hear about my experience visiting a homegrown Oregon company halfway across the world!