BY DANIEL NG

OVER the years, countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) in the Middle East have diversified their economies and committed high levels of public investments and initiatives to grow new industries such as real estate, tourism and financial services. This has created abundant business and investment opportunities in the region, where the unique economic, socio-political, cultural and business environments shaped by strong Islamic influences piqued my interest to enrol in the Singapore Management University's Business Study Mission (BSM) to the Middle East.

On April 23 this year, I joined 40 fellow undergraduates to explore Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Qatar and Oman. The 10-day journey focused on the region's real estate industry, which has been booming rapidly in recent years.

Prior to the trip, we spent 13 weeks learning about the factors and the challenges that impact businesses in Middle East. Numerous guest speakers from companies such as Far East Organisation and CapitaLand kindly shared their insightful views and experiences on doing business in the Middle East.

We also did two group projects related to the region - one examining various real estate developments such as the Palm Jumeirah, Saadiyat Island and the Lusail; the other studying why and how Singaporean companies such as Keppel, the Ascott Group and Thai Express, are able to establish themselves in the region.

Once we arrived in the Middle East, we visited many large-scale real estate developments and experienced first-hand what we had been studying in the past weeks. Among the highlights, we visited the Jubail Industrial City in Saudi Arabia and learnt from its management their vision for the development.

We were taken on a guided tour through the entire industrial city, which left us impressed by how they incorporated comprehensive eco-friendly features right from the earliest phase of development.

On visits to residential and commercial real estate developments such as Lusail and the Pearl in Qatar, we witnessed how these projects came into action, reinforcing what we had learnt about them in class.

Seeing the actual development sites and models in the showrooms, and through interactions with the managers, we all came away with a deeper level of understanding about the projects.

Besides real estate projects, we also visited oil companies such as Abu Dhabi Company for Onshore Oil Operations and Emirates National Oil Company in the UAE to learn about the oil industry and operations in Middle East.

Of course, a trip to the exotic Middle East would not be complete without a taste of its rich culture, heritage and great golden sands. We visited Souq Wafiq, a traditional, atmospheric market in Qatar.

We also had an exciting experience on the Desert Safari in Dubai, where we manoeuvred our way across the rough terrain of the desert on the jeep. It was my first time riding on a camel and sitting on the soft golden sand dune.

Through the trip, I became more aware of the extent Islam permeates all levels of society and its strong influence on the way people of the region do business. To be successful in doing business in the Middle East, it is important to be familiar with the Islamic culture, especially the Shari'ah body of Islamic religious laws.

Furthermore, I realised that the Arabs place great emphasis on establishing personal relationships, family ties and trust when doing business. Hence nurturing good relationships and mutual trust is crucial to conducting business in the region. Personally, I found the Arabs very hospitable and friendly, and had a very pleasant experience interacting with them.

The BSM also provided internship opportunities for us. At the end of our study programme, a number of my classmates remained in the Middle East to commence the internships they received through this module.

My classmates Ethan, Brandon and Kelly took up offers of internships with Emirates National Oil Company in Dubai, while others went to companies such as Banyan Tree, Morison Menon and Konstanz Global, in Bahrain, UAE and Oman.

This trip was a great eye opener for me. For one thing, I never thought I would be able to explore other countries again, as I suffer from muscular dystrophy and my condition has worsened in recent years. Nonetheless, I managed to visit four different countries through this BSM.

For another thing, the experiential learning we gained about the countries and cultures in the region broadened my knowledge and perspectives. There is a saying: 'The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.'

Study trips like this offer great learning opportunities well beyond what I could learn from classes and books. I met great business people there, immersed myself in the rich exotic Middle Eastern culture and had much fun. It made me appreciate the myriad diversities in the world even more.

This journey also taught me that I can live an abundant life filled with great opportunities by being positive in surmounting the barriers that come along.

The writer is a final-year student at the Lee Kong Chian School of Business, Singapore Management University

This article was first published in The Business Times.