Page 102 - Aamir Rehman - Dubai & Co Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States-McGraw-Hill (2007)

86 Dubai & Co.

There are institutional mechanisms in place that keep expatri-
ate workers linked to their homeland: the immigration process for
such workers makes it virtually impossible for them to attain citi-
zenship in any GCC country; residence status is almost always
linked to employment; employment arrangements are generally
short-term (renewable) contracts; and professional job packages
typically include airline tickets “back home” each year. Because
low-level workers are unable to bring their families to the Gulf,
their hearts remain focused on their homeland. Expatriate workers
also tend to support relatives in their home country: nearly $10 bil-
lion of remittances flowed from the UAE in 2004, of which 45 per-
cent went to South or East Asia. Paradoxically, the workers who
earn the least tend to remit the greatest proportion of their income:
the 65 percent of expatriate workers in contracting and construc-
tion, as well as housemaids, send an astounding 70 percent of their
income to their home countries. 44 Clearly, the financial focus of
these workers is on supporting relatives abroad, accumulating
savings, and returning home one day.
Many educated South Asians, like their counterparts in the
MENA region, see the GCC region as a land of opportunity. The
UAE—especially Dubai—is seen as a place where South Asians can
work for higher wages and enjoy a higher standard of living while
retaining the cultural feel of being in India, Pakistan, or Bangladesh.
Hindi and Urdu are spoken commonly in Dubai shops, especially
in more Asian neighborhoods, and traditional South Asian clothing
is visible almost everywhere. Bollywood stars come to Dubai fre-
quently for shows and now even for filming movies. The ARY
broadcasting network, an Urdu-language channel serving
Pakistanis worldwide, is based not in Pakistan but in Dubai.
Wealthy South Asians are snapping up freehold properties in the
UAE for its quality of life, infrastructure, and health care. The Gulf
thus captures the attention of many of the billion-plus South Asians
of all social classes, and activities in the GCC are followed closely
by South Asians with friends and relatives there or with aspirations
to migrate.
Investment ties between the GCC and South Asia are also
increasing rapidly. In 2007, Indian investments in the UAE are
expected to reach $5 billion—more than 60 percent higher than the
year before. There are over 3,000 Indian companies registered in the