1 Doing Business in the GCC
By Scott Appleton
14 ACC & Laurence Simons EMEA
Legal Department Survey 2013
Identifies In-house Trends
By Maggy Baccinelli
15 Survey Reveals In-house Views on
Expanding Business to Africa
By Charles Laurence
16 European Case Law Round-up
By Carolyn Boyle
a special supplement to ACC Docket
18 Ne w ACC Value Challenge Guide:
What’s Different in Europe?
By E. Leigh Dance
Doing Business in the GCC
By Scott Appleton ( scott@954consulting.com), 954 Consulting
A region of competing and
contrasting opportunities
The business opportunities opening up
to international companies in the Co-operation Council for the Arab States
of the Gulf (GCC) are fast increasing,
but the six countries it comprises have
different commercial attractions and
potentially competing economic goals,
participants heard at a recent conference in London.
Hosted by law firm Norton Rose, and
drawing on the practical experience
of panelists from Aegis Group, Boston
Consulting Group, Celerant Consulting,
Citigroup and Everything Everywhere,
the advice offered to ACC members was
both insightful and practical.
In seeking to do business in the
region, international companies must
undertake the requisite due diligence
to confirm the depth of demand for
their offering and to understand the
right markets to enter. Due diligence
should also ensure that companies
choose the right local partner, under-
stand the relative regional legal and
political differences, and have in place
mechanisms to unwind any local op-
erations should the need arise. Getting
into the GCC may actually be easier
than leaving, cautioned some experts.
The drive for diversification
The GCC has enjoyed an oil- and
gas-fueled boom lasting over half a
century, with the past two decades
particularly demonstrating the dynamism (and drive for diversification)
of the leading regional economies.
The dramatically changing skylines of
Abu Dhabi, Doha and Dubai are the
most obvious reflections of the scale of
regional investments.
Established in 1981, the GCC
comprises Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman,
Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United
Arab Emirates (UAE), a federation of
seven autonomous Emirates, with the
most high-profile being Dubai and
the capital, Abu Dhabi. The combined
population of the GCC is around 50
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December 2013 EMEA Briefings
Drafts due by Sept. 13th
