02/08/2009
Saudi youths are capable of taking up challenges for the economic development of the country. This was the view expressed confidently by a young energetic businessman, Mr. Faisal Ahmed Al-Kadi, a scion of Al-Kadi family, which has built one of the Kingdom's successful business empires, the Al Kadi Commerce & Industry (KC&I).
Mr. Faisal, unlike others, has taken over one of the key posts of KC&I built by his father, Sheikh Ahmed Mohammed Al-Kadi, after a long preparation for his career. He has to come a long way and passed through the realities of challenging tasks. He has studied abroad and is still pursuing higher study for a doctoral degree in Business Administration from one of the world's top ten universities - IE Business School (Instituto de Empresa) in Madrid, from where he also got his MBA. Before joining his family business house, he managed a job on his own efforts in a world's renowned company. He worked as a Business Development Analyst (Middle East & Africa), Strategic Marketing in Motorola.
Mr. Faisal is an example of a brilliant chap. His "Business Study Case in Operations and Supply Chain Management" (on Al-Kadi Auto Parts) is now being taught in the IE Business School as well as other renowned schools. He is well groomed to inherit one of the leading business groups in the region and tasked with building on the success of KC&I. He has already proved his ability to take his business conglomerate to new heights.
In an exclusive interview with the Saudi Commerce and Economic Review, Mr. Faisal said there is no doubt that local talents are able to help the Kingdom catch up with the rest of the world in all fields of human activities provided they are brought up and trained in a realistic way keeping in mind the requirements and challenges of the today's business world. "We have a lot of talents and we have to utilize them for the economic prosperity of the country," he added.
Sponsorship System
Mr. Faisal is very much in favor of doing away with sponsorship system of the 'guest' workers currently estimated at around six million working in various industries and service sectors. Abolition of sponsorship system may initially unleash tough competition for Saudis in the job market, but it is necessary to prepare a competent and strong indigenous work force, which can only be built through hard competition.
He believes that sponsorship system is now stymieing the progress of government Saudization program because this system inhibits foreign workers from changing their jobs, which in turn, gives owners full control over their employees. This has encouraged Saudi employers to hire more guest workers instead of employing the locals. “This is the time to scrap the sponsorship system in order to keep up with the changing world realities," he said.
He is also in favor of eliminating the quota system for Saudis in private companies. There are many companies which can easily saudize nearly 100 percent of their work force, but the Saudization quota system discourages them to exceed the certain level of localizing their employees. On the other hand, many firms particularly those in the construction and manufacturing sectors, are finding it difficult to fulfill the imposed quota due to non availability of skilled and willing-to-work local people. These companies may be asked to contribute to the Human Resources Development Fund for preparing a skilled local manpower instead of forcing them to employ local youths.
Misperception Dispelled
Mr. Faisal dispels misperception about family businesses, which are blamed for low growth and less professionalism. Pointing to his own experience from his doctoral thesis in the field of "Entrepreneurship & Family Business", he said that family businesses are the largest producers of new companies in the world. Owners of family businesses inherit the legacy of their forefathers and create a distinguished reputation in the society for their families. They are loyal and dedicated to their businesses and rarely involved in any wrong-doing lest their family image is tarnished. Another most important advantage of the professionally-run family businesses, he noted, is that owners of these firms are to work with two hats - one as owners and the other as executives - and it helps them understand from top to bottom of their business houses. But he stressed the need for transparency, proper documentation and establishment of smooth procedures in family-owned companies.
Mr. Faisal identifies himself as a third generation businessman and hopes that the next generation business people will be more enthusiastic, pro-active and realistic defying the general notion about family businesses that the first generation builds, the second generation enjoys and the third generation destroys.
Women's Participation
He talked about women's participation in nation-building activities saying that the Kingdom has started shaking off the shackles of the past with the appointment of the first woman to the post of deputy minister and a number of female advisers at the Shoura Council and at the boards of chambers of commerce & industry. Saudi women have proved their ability as successful entrepreneurs, top executives and high level government officials. They have even outperformed their male counterparts in the higher education at universities.
Mr. Faisal advocated freedom for women to work anywhere possible without restricting them to some specific job categories. But he is also in favor of not socially forcing them to work in certain occupations, which might not conform to their needs, local culture, tradition and values. "A friendly and congenial environment must be created so women can work with their due prestige and honor," he said.
He noted an inhibiting factor which hinders the growth of businesswomen---a requirement of male agent for conducting their business affairs with various government agencies. Although there is a ministerial degree thatallows women to set up their businesses without a need of a male agent, it is still challenging for them to handle all of their business affairs directly. It is true that since Saudi Arabia is a big country, it takes time for laws and regulations to be put in place simultaneously in all the regions of the country, said Mr. Faisal.
Revision of Laws
He stressed the need for continued revision of laws and regulations related to trade and businesses in order to keep pace with the changing world. "Our trade laws must be world standard and there should also be an efficient judicial environment to build confidence among local and foreign investors alike", said Mr. Faisal pointing to enormous trade and investment opportunities in the Kingdom. "Businessmen should play a more active role in helping the government revise the trade regulations since our government is always receptive to suggestions and recommendations from experts and the business community," he added.
He urged the government to rethink export reforms, particularly re-export procedures. "There should not be excessive bureaucratic red tapes and unnecessary delay during the re-export of products at the port of entry or departure," he observed. Modern equipment and qualified inspection personnel are needed to expedite the re-export procedures to neighboring countries. Mr. Faisal is in favor of imposing value added tax on re-export products instead of current export duties.
GCC Cooperation
To increase intra-trade and cooperation among the neighboring countries, GCC bloc should be strengthened. GCC has a big potential to emerge as a global economic group like EU. Mr. Faisal believes that the GCC single currency will, someday, be strong enough like Euro, although there are some initial hiccups with UAE and Oman keeping themselves outside the GCC monetary union. There is also a weakness for GCC single currency owing to the fact that there is frequent fluctuation of oil prices, on which GCC economies and possible-currency are mostly dependent, he noted.
YABC Activities
Mr. Faisal is a founder board member of the Asharqia Young Businessmen Council (AYBC). It was established by Asharqia Chamber with the objective of helping young businessmen develop their own businesses and create job opportunities, instead of looking for them. AYBC has launched a number of unique programs to support the local youths to initiate their own firms. Among them are "Tajrobati" (my experience), "Dewaniya" (informal meeting) and "Mashurati" (exchange of views) are prominent.
Tajrobati has been organized to provide a platform where business leaders can communicate their experiences to the youth. Dewaniya is an informal meeting in which experts and young businessmen are invited to deliver short speeches on various business educational subjects. It is an opportunity to network. It is mainly organized to enjoy an informal time with friendly members. Mashurati provides a platform for to-be young businessmen who are mentored by established businessmen. It is an interesting program through which youths get an opportunity to directly learn from the experienced businessmen.
Mr. Faisal has taken the helm of KC&I as its General Manager. Established in the 1940s in Dammam, the Group (www.al-kadi.com) has now diverse interest in a variety of economic sectors such as heavy industry, automotive and real-estate development. Mr. Faisal is currently looking after the Truck & Trailer Parts Division (TTPD) of the Group. TTPD, within its field, is the largest importer, retailer, wholesaler and stocker in the Middle East. Its stock encompasses more than 7 million parts of 35,000 different SKUs. It has branches across the Kingdom and agents in many countries of the region. In addition to its own brands, TTPD also has dealership or distribution agreements with more than 25 international brands as well as its own brands. It sources products from more than 40 countries. KC&I has now become the leading transportation services and support Group in the region. Mr. Faisal is also handling the Business Development initiatives at the Group in his other position as the Vice President for Business Development.
Another division of the Group, Al-Kadi Truck Body Factory is one of the first truck trailer manufacturing plants in the Gulf. It is considered the premier name in quality trailers and equipment for the past 50 years. The plant offers several custom-made products and internationally recognized lines of flat beds, low beds, tippers, cement bulkers, grain silos, fuel tankers, steel and stainless steel water tankers and ground-mounted tankers. The highest welding and fabrication technologies are implemented throughout the line. The plant is an approved supplier of the top oil and chemical companies in the country like Saudi Aramco & SABIC. It also supplies to most of the leading fleet owners and operators all over the Gulf region.
KC&I has also a state-of-the-art automotive center catering for Land Rover automobiles, which is a complete and modern service center employing the best available technicians and controllers. Al-Kadi Automotive Centre is an independent Land Rover auto parts retailer and service provider.
