WITH the Singapore brand behind them, local companies are taking off on ventures across the world, bringing their businesses to a wider global audience. For local law firms, this has opened up a runway to the global market as they move to guide the commercial interests of their globalising clients in foreign lands while recognising that the increasingly borderless environment presents opportunities to let Singapore's well respected legal expertise take flight.

Law firms that have opened offices overseas include WongPartnership LLP, Drew & Napier LLC, Rajah & Tann LLP, JTJB and Khattar Wong. While China has been widely acknowledged to be the red-hot land of opportunity for some time now, the Middle East, a richly abundant region, is beginning to ignite the interest of the global business community.

Two Singaporean lawyers who have uprooted themselves from Singapore to move to Qatar and China share their experiences of living in their host countries.

Crossing borders and cultures: Paul and his wife Candace (main head picture) with the blue waters of the Arabian Gulf in the background and Gerry Gan (above), who has been based in China since 2004.

In his early days of setting up office in Doha, Paul Sandosham, a partner at WongPartnership LLP, had to brave the 45-degree afternoon summer heat of the Arabian desert and carry an assortment of office equipment to the newly acquired office premises by himself, as in the Middle East, all manner of business tends to slow down to an official halt in the heat of the summer afternoons.

A year on from setting up the office in the Qatar Financial Centre in Doha, Paul often still has to remind his overseas counterparts that many offices in the Middle East usually shut down in the mid-day, and unlike the more common Saturday and Sunday weekend, the official weekend begins on Friday and ends on Saturday in most of the Gulf states.

Work hours are not that drastically different in China, but it takes time and patience to get to grips with the country's maze of red tape. The good thing is, the Chinese government is keen to improve things and is taking steps to simplify and modernise the work processes, observes Gerry Gan, who is also a partner at WongPartnership LLP.

Based in China since 2004, he is, by now, accustomed to the bureaucracy. He recalls his first day in China spent in a bank learning how to write traditional Chinese characters that are required for engrossing cheques as the level at which the language is used was quite demanding.

It is important to immerse oneself in the ways and culture of a country to be fully integrated into the country. The notion of guanxi, or business connections, is still very much part of the Chinese business community (this perhaps should be taken with more discretion today, as practically any man on the street would claim to be connected to some official or other).

Alcohol is a traditional 'must-have' at business meals in China. The same cannot be said in the Middle East, where expatriates would need to apply for a licence to purchase alcohol from the sole supplier for personal consumption, or risk being jailed or deported.

The Middle East is not without the problem of bureaucracy. Compared to China, it is perhaps even more amplified as across the Middle East, the regulatory authorities of the different Gulf states are just finding their footing with foreign investors entering their business environment. The implementation of separate licensing procedures across the patchwork of the Gulf states can be confusing to the new foreign entrant.

Patience and a laid-back attitude are key in the Middle East, as the locals quite often tend to leave matters to fate, repeating the oft-heard phrase 'Inshallah', which loosely translates into 'God willing'.

Although Singapore is held in high regard in China as well as in the Middle East, Singaporeans cannot be complacent about their success. The Chinese, for instance, may respect Singapore's success but they also know that just with the sheer amount of resources their country possesses, they can be equally capable and are hungry for the same, if not even higher levels of success.

A humble attitude will take one's business interests further and being away from tiny Singapore does broaden a person's horizons as one realises just how vast and diverse the world is. Very often, the temptation is to do things the way they are done back home in Singapore. It is crucial to accept that the people in the host country have their own way of doing things.

The ability of Singaporeans to adapt to a different business climate is important to successfully take a business overseas. While Singaporeans possess skills and expertise that can be exported, it is important to remember that they have as much to learn from these countries as well.

Crossing borders and cultures, setting up offices in these countries is an experience in itself, not lost on those used to the convenience of the familiar Singapore system. Still, being away from the creature comforts of home does bite sometimes, although Singaporeans like Paul and Gerry have managed to find a thriving expatriate community in their host countries, aided by the Singapore government's active pro-business directives and support overseas.

Contributed by WongPartnership LLP