LITMIR.BIZ

Скачать книгу

      Edward Burton

      Business and Entrepreneurship in Saudi Arabia

      The Wiley Finance series contains books written specifically for finance and investment professionals as well as sophisticated individual investors and their financial advisors. Book topics range from portfolio management to e-commerce, risk management, financial engineering, valuation and financial instrument analysis, as well as much more. For a list of available titles, visit our website at www.WileyFinance.com.

      Founded in 1807, JohnWiley & Sons is the oldest independent publishing company in the United States. With offices in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia, Wiley is globally committed to developing and marketing print and electronic products and services for our customers' professional and personal knowledge and understanding.

      Copyright © 2016 by Edward Burton. All rights reserved.

      Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.

      Published simultaneously in Canada.

      No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc., 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978) 646-8600, or on the Web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, (201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

      Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifically disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor author shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.

      For general information on our other products and services or for technical support, please contact our Customer Care Department within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 or fax (317) 572-4002.

      Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

       Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available:

      ISBN 9781118943960 (Hardcover)

      ISBN 9781119296188 (ePDF)

      ISBN 9781119296171 (ePub)

      Cover Design: Wiley

      Cover Images: (top) © Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Royal Commission for Jubail & Yanbu; (bottom) © Saudi Desert Photos by TARIQ-M/ Getty Images, Inc.

      Preface

      This book is about business in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and how change occurring within the Kingdom is transforming how business is done. It is about Saudi Arabia's business community and the importance and relevance the Kingdom's economy and its industrial and commercial centers have to global business. But, more importantly, it is about the people, companies, and business environment that make doing business in Saudi Arabia such a unique and rewarding experience.

      I have spent most of my professional career assisting American enterprise in the trade of their goods and services, and placement of their capital investments in markets around the world. During the course of this vocation, I have gained knowledge in the art and science of evaluating foreign markets for business and learned what to look for when identifying countries representing the best prospects for gaining and growing market share for American businesses. I have found no market more thought-provoking nor engaging than the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

      There have been numerous books written about Saudi Arabia over the past 25 years. However, a cursory review of those works show their subject matter primarily centers on oil, internal, regional and international politics, the Kingdom's economy, or its social questions of the day. To be sure, studies of these topics are valuable to a rounded understanding of Saudi Arabia. But the dearth of books dedicated to the subject of commercial affairs inside the Kingdom has assumed a deafening quality given Saudi Arabia's importance to the world. And, there are reasons for the absence of credible literature on the subject.

      Culturally, Saudi Arabia has often been labeled a closed society. Many who approach the market for business comment on the insular nature of the Kingdom's culture, which in turn casts upon it a facade of inscrutability and impenetrability. For those electing not to spend the time to get to know the country and its people, an inevitable feeling of enduring challenge characterizes doing business there. However, with modest and sincere effort, the Kingdom's enormous market opportunities and an enriched experience with its businesses eagerly await those who wish them. It is for this reason, and my enduring respect and admiration for the Saudi business community I have written this book.

      I lived and worked in Saudi Arabia for three years. Considering there are American “long-termer” expatriate workers with more than 30 years in the Kingdom, I am always on guard against exaggerating my familiarity with the Kingdom. However, I believe that for one to have some sense of the Kingdom's vitality, exceptionality, and promise, one must spend significant sustained periods within its borders. I gained my sense of the Kingdom through those three years serving as commercial attaché in the American embassy in Riyadh as well as almost 10 years now as president and CEO of the U.S. – Saudi Arabian Business Council. Through these unique and valued professional appointments, I have been fortunate to have gained the trust, confidence, and support of some of the Kingdom's most respected and esteemed business people. Owners and senior management of small, medium-sized, and large Saudi companies have enthusiastically supported bringing this book to market because their story is not being told. It has only been through the privileged access afforded me over the years that this book and its glimpse into the Kingdom's private world of business were made possible.

      The chapters of this book are summarized as follows:

      A current view of Saudi Arabia's economic strength and rapidly expanding industrial complex is given in Chapter 1. The period between 1938 and 1970, from the discovery of oil to the nation's first formal economic development effort and onset of industrial expansion, is given significance since this is when many of the Kingdom's well-known businesses were established. The chapter examines the Kingdom's national economic development plans, especially the first and most recent ones, and looks at historical efforts by the Saudi government to integrate the Kingdom's business sector into serving the nation's development goals. The chapter examines the question whether adequate coordination between and among the public and private sectors has attended implementation of these plans. Two of the most important topics of influencing economic development, Saudi Arabia's pursuit and achievement of membership in the World Trade Organization (WTO) and its relentless drive toward economic diversification from an oil-based

Скачать книгу