Potential for Setting up a Business of Freezers - Essay Example

Freezers Introduction Refrigerators and freezers have become an integral part of our daily life. Today life has become so fast that people get little time to go to market to shop fresh food item every day. People go to markets to buy fresh vegetables, fruit and other food items once or twice a week and store in their refrigerators or freezers. Given the fast pace of life, demand for frozen or canned foods have also increased by manifolds. All these have contributed to the creation of a huge demand for freezers almost in all countries across the world, particularly in the countries having hot climate. Thus investing in the production of freezers seems to be profitable. However, investing decision needs to be taken with due care. For making a business profitable, the most important thing is to make a right decision about the location of the firm. If a person wants to set up a new business or to expand his/her existing business, it is very important to conduct a rigorous analysis of economic, political, social and technological environments of various areas before selecting any particular area for locating his or her firm. The person should choose the best suitable area for setting up his/her business. This paper analyses the potential of three developing regions for setting up a business of freezers. These three areas are Egypt, Turkey and Dubai. This paper will attempt to analyze economic, political, social and technological conditions of these three regions and find out which out of these three will be best suited for setting up the business. But before moving into an in-depth analysis of the issue under consideration, it is necessary to provide a brief overview of the business organization that wants to invest in one of these three regions. A brief overview of the organization and product line The business organization is based at New Jersey, USA. It is a freeze manufacturing company and is quite new in this business. It was established only in 2004. Presently it is quite small in its size and belongs to the SME (Small and medium enterprise) sector of the United States. Although it is small in size at present, it has a number of investment plans in order to expand its business in near future. It is a profitable firm and purely concentrates on providing high quality products at reasonable prices. Although it started as a very small firm, its production level has been increasing quite rapidly given the increasing demand for its products. Looking at its growth in the US market, it is hoping that it would be also successful in other countries as well. But, instead of adopting a strategy of exporting its products to foreign locations, it has decided to directly invest for setting up its business in foreign countries. Instead of investing in developed countries, it is more interested in setting up businesses in the emerging markets of Africa, Europe and Asia. It wants to invest in one of the three emerging markets of Egypt, Turkey and Dubai. As far as its product range is concerned, it produces different varieties of freezers for households. These freezers help in storing and preserving food safely for the households. It’s product-line includes chest freezers, upright freezers, refrigerator freezers as well as specialty freezers. Each of these types is available in different sizes. Compared to other varieties, chest freezers usually take larger space but still they are as efficient as others. Upright freezers, on the other hand, are a great option for those households whose refrigerator freezers are failing to fulfill the needs in terms of space capacity. These freezers are relatively small in size but can easily meet the needs of the average families. As far as refrigerator freezers are concerned, the company offers a number of designs and hence customers have wide verities to choose from. This company is also an expert in manufacturing specialty freezers. These are designed in such a way that they can be used for family uses as well as for camping. This company, however, has still not started to produce any kind of commercial freezer for businesses. Currently it is only concentrating on household freezers, but it is planning to produce commercial freezers also in near future. A key feature of this company is that in producing each variety of products, it used advanced technology which has been able to make its freezers energy as well as cost efficient along with space saving. The products manufactured by this company have been able to create a huge customer base within a very short period of time on account of a number of benefits that they offer. The benefits that the freezers manufactured by this company offer include relatively lower freezing time, low level of losses in product weight, energy efficiency in terms of low level of energy consumption, low level of water consumption, very low maintenance costs, and long running hours. Analysis of economic environments of Egypt, Turkey and Dubai Economic environment of Egypt: Egypt is a North African nation. It is a transportation hub of the Middle East. Egypt’s economic structure can be characterized as a socialist economic system. Egypt became the member of WTO on 30th June 1995 (Understanding the WTO: The Organization. Members and Observers. N.d). Egypt was sworn in as member of GATT on 9th May 1970 (Ratification of the Convention on the OECD.OECD Member Countries. N.d). In 2004, the country has entered into a new reformed era where private sector has obtained a huge impetus for growth. The reform program actually had been undertaken in 1991, but it lost its pace since the mid-1990s. In 2004, the cabinet ministry of Egypt took new initiatives to revive this economic reform program once again by simplifying tax and tariff system and improving the transparency level of the national budget. The cabinet also took a number of steps to privatize several public enterprises and implemented new economic legislation to foster the growth of its private sector in order to increase the countries competitiveness in the international market. Although, a number of reform measures have been undertaken by the government to allow the business enterprises acting in more liberalized environment, government still intervenes substantially the areas like food, housing, energy etc. by proving huge subsidies. Not only that, till now public sector also control most of the heavy industries. (Egypt Business Forecast Report, 2009) As far as sector specific deregulation measures are concerned, agriculture sector of the country is mainly in private hand and government interventions is very low in this sector. Similarly, construction, various non-financial services as well as domestic marketing are in private hands. But the sectors of oil, gas and tourism, transportation through Suez Canal which the economy of Egypt is heavily relied on are largely controlled by the government. (Egypt Business Forecast Report, 2009) As far as the present economic performance of the country is concerned, the global economic slow down has badly hit the economy by significantly lowering Suez trafficking which is one of the major source of income of Egypt. The stock market is falling continuously. No significant growth in income, balance of payment etc. seems to take place in near future. The country is now mainly suffering from several external problems due to the global economic crisis. GDP has grown at a rate of around 6.9 percent in 2008. The average standard of living of the citizens of Egypt still remains poor with having not so impressive purchasing power. Total value of GDP in terms of purchasing power parity has stood at $442.6 billion, while per capita income was only $5.400 (in terms of purchasing power parity) in 2008. Thus, the government has been forced to provide a lot of subsidies to boost the standard of living, which has resulted in a huge budget deficit (Africa :: Egypt. N.d). According to IMF’s forecasts, however, in coming years, the rate of growth in GDP will fall from its three years average of 7 percent. IMF is expecting a fall in GDP by 4.5-5.5 percent in 2009 itself. In 2008, inflation rate stood at a level of as high as 18 percent, but given the huge fall in demand due to the on going economic crisis, IMF is expecting a fall inflation rate in coming years by around 8-12 percent. The economic growth of 7% during the last 3 years had only benefited 1% population of the country which comprises only of the financially elite people, and the military. The high inflation has pushed 20% of the population under poverty line. (Shaoul. 2009) The balance of payment has also suffered from a huge deficit. It has been forecasted that in 2009, current account deficient will stand at a level of 3.9 percent of GDP. The current and forecasted investment environment also seems to be largely pro-investment type. The first quarter of 2008-09 saw a fall of 30% in FDI from $3 billion in 2007-08 to $2.1 billion. FII’s also withdrew their money, which fell from $1.7 billion to $0.4 billion. According to IMF’s forecast FDI will further decline in coming years. (Shaoul. 2009). Economic environment of Turkey: Turkeys economy is a Mixed Economy where one can find modern industry, commerce and agriculture as well. Agriculture accounts for a good 30% employment. Turkey is a self sufficient country in terms of food. The country is characterized by a fast growing private sector in the fields of transport, communication and banking. One-third of employment is generated by the textiles and clothing industry. However, since the global quota system ended, the textile industry of Turkey faces severe competition in the international arena. Day by day, the automotive and electronic sectors are rising in their contributions to exports. GDP grew at the rate of 1.5 percent in 2008. The purchasing power in terms of GDP and per capita income stood in 2008 at US$ 906.5 billion and US $12,000, respectively, while inflation stood at a rate of 10.2 percent. The economy is now under current account deficit, and has a huge amount of debt to repay. This has happened despite foreign investments, IMF assistance, and large gains made during 2002-07, and tight fiscal policies. (Turkey Food and Drink Report Q1 2009. 2009). Global economic downturn has deteriorated the countries economic outlook. Turkey is expected to experience a huge economic contraction throughout 2009. Forecasted GDP of Turkey for 2009 stands at a level of -3.3 percent as fixed capital investment and consumption level are expected to fall drastically. However, it is also forecasted that the country will be able to recover in the subsequent years with 1.7 percent forecasted growth in GDP in 2010 and with an average forecasted growth of 5 percent during 2011-2013. (Turkey Business Forecast Report. 2009) Although global economic downturn has severely hit the nation, the investment environment has still remained very much pro-business in nature. The country is working towards becoming a member of EU by taking a number of institutional reform measures which have provided its regulatory framework an international standard and significantly opened up the economy towards foreign investment. Economic environment of Dubai: Dubai the one of the richest city in UAE. The government of Dubai follows an open economic policy which has obtained a great international reputation. Liberal economic policy of Dubai has established a favorable investment conditions for domestic as well as foreign investors almost in every possible economic sphere. Instead of becoming depending on oil only, Dubai has tried to become a strong non-oil based economy and it has been successful in its efforts. Most of Dubai’s revenue comes not from its oil reserves, but from its tourism industry, and through trade and commerce. Nearly 93% GDP of Dubai is non oil based (Carter and Dunston. 2006). It is now expected that by 2010 the non oil based diversified economy of Dubai can well be compared with developed countries. Annual GDP of this city will become as high as US $30 billion by 2010 while at the same time per capita GDP will become US$23000. Annual growth rate in GDP is expected to become 6 percent by 2010. (Salient Features). In terms of BOP, the city also enjoys a huge trade surplus. As far as far as business and investment environment is concerned, Dubai offers a favorable environment or setting up new business ventures. UAE has joined WTO in 1995. UAE has been privileged enough to sign the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement with Washington in 2004. The same year saw UAE signing the Free Trade Agreement with the US (Middle East :: United Arab Emirates. N.d). Dubai’s free trade zones have attracted foreign businesses here and they are promised with full foreign ownership, full repatriation of capital and profits, no corporate tax for 15 years, no currency restrictions, and no income tax to be paid by their employees. The free zones are The Dubai Airport Free Zone Authority, The Dubai Internet City, The Dubai Media City, and the Jebel Ali Free Zone Authority (Carter and Dunston. 2006. Pg.20). The opening of “The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC)” has made Dubai the financial hub of Middle East. (The economic changes that have transformed Dubai into the city it is today. 2009). Dubai’s economy offers foreign investors a number of other advantages including low cost environment for work, huge pool of regional talent etc. Now Table 1 compares and economic environment of these three regions in terms of the future performance of a number of economic indicators. Table 1 Indicators Dubai Egypt Turkey Economic System and Level of Freedom Open economy and private sector enjoys high level of freedom Public sector dominated and private sector faces huge government restrictions Mixed Economy and private enterprises enjoys moderate level of freedom Regional Economic Arrangements A member of The Gulf Cooperation Council in West Asia (GCC). Does not belong to any regional trading group Turkey is an applicant of EU. Global trade Agreements and Global Groupings Not a part of G8 countries, and OECD. Dubaihad been a member of GATT, and is now a member of WTO. Not a part of G8 countries, and OECD. Egypt had been a member of GATT, and is now a member of WTO. Not a part of G8 countries. Turkey is a member of OECD. Turkey had been a member of GATT, and is now a member of WTO. GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) High low Medium GDP Real growth rate High Medium low Per Capita GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) High Low Medium Public Debt Low High Medium Consumer Price Inflation Medium High Low BOP Deficit Low High Medium On the basis of the ratings assigned to different economic indicators of the three regions in terms of their forecasted performances as discussed in the earlier section, it can be said that Dubai offers the most lucrative economic climate for the organization under consideration for making an investment. Dubai’s open economic climate is an ideal destination for any foreign investors. Apart from this, purchasing power of the people living in Dubai is also greater compared to Turkey and Egypt. Not only that, in coming years also Dubai is expected to recover the current economic crisis at a much faster pace than the other two regions. It simply implies that the level of demand for freezers will also be quite higher in Dubai in coming years compared to Turkey and Egypt. In the presence of no government intervention and low cost working environment level of profit will also be much higher in Dubai than in the other two regions. Egypt, on the other hand, offers the least attractive economic environment for setting up new business compared to the other two regions, given it deteriorating economic conditions which do not show much hope of recovery in near future. Although it is true that favorable economic environment is the first requirement for setting up any business in any place, political, social and technological aspects are also very important to consider in the decision making process. Analysis of political environments of Egypt, Turkey and Dubai Political environment of Egypt: Citizens enjoy a democratic system of voting whereby they have elected “Mohamed Hosni Mubarak” as President or Chief of State for a six year term, and “Ahmed Mohamed Nazif” as Prime Minister or Head of Government. Under Nazif administration, the FDI environment can not be termed as highly favorable for foreign investments as several informal barriers still exist. As far as tax environment is concerned, although the current government administration have reduced corporate tax and custom duties, but they still exists and are still at higher level compared to many other nations. Government regulations also make huge delays in clearance of goods through customs. Under the current political scenario, high level of corruption has pervaded the entire administrative system. As a result transaction costs for making entry to the domestic market is also very high in Egypt.(Doing Business in Egypt). Apart form all these, Egypt is a city which is vulnerable to frequent strikes, demonstrations, and other kinds of clashes and disputes between the policemen and industrial workers. Thousands of workers from the domestic textile industry, the transport business and the healthcare business have already protested through strikes and sit-ins, earlier this year itself. The level of anger among domestic worker towards the government seems to increase in future over the issue of Gaza conflict. (Egypt Business Forecast Report, Q1 2009). The anger in the minds of the Egyptian people is anticipated to become great that carrying on business here by a foreign firm is politically unsafe. Political environment of Turkey: Turkey’s parliament follows a republican democracy form of government, which gives its citizens the right to vote. Numerous political parties exist here. The current Prime Minister is Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has been appointed by the President, Abdullah Gul, from among the members of the parliament. The citizens vote for the president, who is elected for a five year term. The government undertook several reform measures whose future became very much uncertain after the ruling party was alleged for anti-secular activities. However, recently the government has managed to emerge unscathed from the trial and there have risen a hope that those reform measures will once again be revived. The renewal of structural reform measures will provide a huge boot to productivity as well as to foreign direct investment. The improved political environment has significantly reduces the level of political risks that any business venture is supposed to face while setting up a business. The continuation of the current government also provides a positive signal of improved relations with the European Union in the coming years. The current political and legal frame work of the country is expected to go a long way to open up the country towards foreign investment by implementing limited-regulatory regime. However, corruption at local level remains a huge concern for the country. (Turkish Business Forecast Report Q4, 2008) Political environment of Dubai: The UAE is a federation, where some powers are assigned to the UAE federal government, and some to the Member Emirates. The dual system of Sharia and civil courts forms the basis of the independent legal system. The UAE does not accept ICJ jurisdiction (Middle East :: United Arab Emirates. N.d) Inflation has turned into a political issue from an economic one, with the real value of wages of the unskilled workers falling. Very recently, riots took place in Dubai regarding this issue. Battling inflation has become a major concern, as people do get high salaries here, but the entire value of the salaries is eroded by the ever increasing rates of inflation. The government, Sheikh Mohammed responded positively to the requests and appeals of the workers to provide them with higher wages, better facilities and conditions. This proves that Dubai is moving towards modernization and democracy. Politically and legally, Dubai is a very safe and rewarding city to establish a new business. (United Arab Emirates Food and Drink Report Q2 2008. 2008). The complete absence controls on exchange rate and any kind of trade barriers, low level of restrictions on capital gains as well as zero tax on income and corporate profit, Dubai provides huge incentive to the foreign investors. Table 2 compares the political situations in the three regions in terms of the rating assigned to different indicators. Indicators UAE Egypt Turkey Government type Federation Republic Republican Parliamentary Democracy Political Risk Rating Low High Medium Sovereignty High Medium Medium Taxes Very low High Medium Corruption Low high Medium On the basis of the above analysis and the ratings provided to different indicators in the table above, it can be said the current and forecasted political atmosphere of Dubai is best suitable for setting up freezer’s business by the organization as political risk, corruption, tax etc are relatively much lower in Dubai compared to the other two regions. It implies that the company will be able to operate under a politically much safer atmosphere in Dubai than in Egypt and Turkey. Analysis of social and cultural environment of Egypt, Turkey and Dubai Socio-cultural environment of Egypt: The majority of population is the educated middle class. The professions include tourism, technology, finance and banking, doctors, engineers, artists, and journalists. They do visit movie theatres and mall, and they celebrate festivals. They enjoy their night life as well. Children in Egypt go to school, obey family rules, eat good food, and wear fashionable clothes. Most people have more than one source of income. The religion Islam is practiced here. One can find various expressions of ancient culture here – like music, folk dance and art (Dunn, nd. ; Harris, Nd). Socio-cultural environment of Turkey: There are various ethnic groups here, and Turkey does not put its population into different ethnic categories because it follows a secular western system of religion, education, and laws. Economic and political factors, the environment, foreign ideas, and ancient culture have influenced the use of space, and the modern architecture. There are enough theatres, restaurants, beaches, and other public places. Education and wealth determine the social status of an individual in Turkey, and there are many wealthy business families here. (Magnarella. N.d). Socio-cultural environment of Dubai: The current population of Dubai is approximately 1.4 million of which 90 per cent live in the city, and only 10 percent are local Emirate people. Dubai is a multinational city. The culture is deeply rooted in their Islamic religion. More and more Emirati’s are opening up to the modern world, and allowing women to take up jobs, and wear clothes as they wish (Carter and Dunston, 2006). The personal disposable income is very high. Their lifestyle is classy and posh and they enjoy an elegant- lump sum salary, a branded car, extensive villas with maids and governesses and a lifestyle which permits them to spend two months every year abroad to avoid the scorching heat. (Carter and Dunston, 2006).  Key Statistics (2008) Dubai Egypt Turkey Population spread 57/sq km 83 / sq km 98 / sq km Urbanization 78% 43% 69% Family status high medium medium Although population spread in Dubai is relatively lower than the other two regions, but the level of urbanization and family status higher in Dubai. Freezers are mainly used by modern households which have sufficient amount of income to buy and maintain freezers. It implies that demand for freezers will be higher from socio-cultural point of view as well in Dubai than in the other two regions. Analysis of technological environments of Egypt, Turkey and Dubai Technological environment in Egypt: The nation has a well built large communications system comprising of telephone, internet, and radio networks. The communications system was upgraded during the 1990’s (Africa : Egypt. N.d). Technological environment in Turkey: The nation has a well built large communications system which is undergoing modernization. Facilities like the telephone, radio, and internet are readily available. (Middle East : Turkey. N.d) Technological environment in Dubai: The entire city is based upon modern technology. With the introduction of “The Dubai Internet City and Media City”, technological advances in the field of “Informations and Communications” have taken place prompting CNN, a media company, to base their Middle East operations in Dubai. Table 4 shows a complete Pest Analysis on the basis of the observations analyses above: Region Economic Environment Political environment Socio-cultural Environment Technological Environment Rating comment Rating comment Rating comment Rating comment Dubai High The economy is completely deregulated and offers attractive economic conditions for setting up business by a foreign entity High Political system ensure peaceful working conditions along with favorable tax structure and low level of corruption High High level of urbanization and high income status will create high demand High highly advanced technology will help the business Egypt Low High government regulation which hinders free operations of the business firms. Low High level of political risks with huge unrest among workers with significantly high corruption and not favorable tax structure Low Low level of urbanization and medium income will create relatively lower demand Medium technology environment is favorable Tukey Medium There exists regulations although at limited level, in future it is expected to become more favorable for foreign investments Medium Political system has become stable, but tax structure is not very favorable and corruption exists at high level Medium Medium level of urbanization and medium income status will create moderate demand Medium technology environment is favorable (ratings have been assigned in terms of favorability) Table 4 shows that in every sphere, Dubai is the most attractive place for setting up a business of freezers. Micro Analysis The level of competition at the industry level is highest in Dubai than in the other two regions as business environment in Dubai is highly favorable for domestic as well as international investors. The market of freezers is a matured market in Dubai compared to the other to markets located in Egypt and turkey. Since, the pace of urbanization is relatively slower in Egypt and turkey compared to Dubai, the market seems to be growing in these two areas. Hence, it would be little difficult to have a high market share in Dubai. Besides, since the organization under consideration belongs to SME sector, it might face difficulty to compete with the already established firms in Dubai most of which belongs to large industrial sector. For example, Al Futtaim Group, a freezer manufacturer based in Dubai, is one of the largest trading houses in the entire Middle East. (Sellers, Exporters, Manufacturers of freezers, 2009) Although micro economic environment seems to be little unfavorable for Dubai, Strong macro economic environment makes Dubai a perfect place for investment for manufacturing freezers. References 1. Africa :: Egypt. 2009. Central Intelligence Agency. Available at: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-worldfactbook/geos/EG.html (Accessed on July 09, 2009) 2. Carter, T., Dunston, L. 2006. Dubai. Lonely Planet, Melbourne, Australia. (accessed on July 12, 2009) 3. Doing Business in Egypt. N.d. Available at: http://www.buyusa.gov/egypt/en/ccg01.html. (Accessed on July 13, 2009). 4. Dunn, J. Nd. Modern Egyptian Culture. The Egyptian Middle Class. Tour Egypt. Available at: http://www.touregypt.net/magazine/modernegyptculture.htm (Accessed on July 11, 2009) 5. Egypt Business Forecast Report. 2009. Available at: http://www.businessmonitor.com/bf/egypt.html (Accessed on July 13, 2009). 6. Egypt Food and Drink Report Q2 2009. 2009. 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