Dubai: Proctor and Gamble Company, the global consumer products company, is keen to continue its expansion in the Arabian Peninsula and Middle East region.
In June 2009, P&G expanded its headquarters in the UAE, involving an investment of about $15 million (Dh55 million).
"Six and a half years ago we had 32 people here; we've got over 300 people right now. So we've increased our number of people almost ten times," said Christopher Hassall, senior vice-president and global external relations officer at P&G. "It [Dubai] is becoming a regional hub for us," he said.
"We're feeling very good about business prospects here," Hassall said. The company currently has two manufacturing facilities in Saudi Arabia, two in Pakistan, and one in Egypt. "We're expanding. We're building our second plant in Egypt," he said.
The Saudi plants, including all the manufacturing facilities, entailed an investment of nearly $300 million, said Yassin Omar Al Attas, Middle East and Pakistan external relations director, P&G. Al Attas said that P&G is focusing on markets where the company doesn't operate currently. "For instance, in Sudan we've been there through our distributors, but now we're more active. We have more focus on that market," he explained.
The company tries to meet the demands of the consumers regardless of where they're from, whether it's a developed community or not,
While the company didn't provide any information on its sales growth rate, Al Attas said it is looking forward to a good year ahead. "I think we're quite a resilient company. We're quite confident the year 2010 is going to be a good year for us," he said.
