While it is important for Middle East businesses to move with the times and compete globally, it is as important that beliefs are not compromised or traditions broken, says a leading Saudi Arabian businessman. Prince Abdulaziz bin Fahad bin Abdullah Al Saud, the Fama Holdings vice-chairman, says globalisation gives family businesses the chance to grow in a dynamic environment.
Prince Abdulaziz contends Middle East businesses can benefit from globalisation if they take from it better "ways and means of doing business."

But it's important for family businesses to take stock of what is important to them. "Globalisation is here and it will happen. In the Middle East we need to also talk about familisation which is a powerful concept. "In this part of the world we function within very defined boundaries of custom, religion and tradition - we cannot take on things that threaten this."

Prince Abdulaziz, who spoke at the Annual Family Company Management Conference, recently launched FAMilization.com. The website is based on 'familisation' - a term invented by Fama.
Familisation describes the cultural integrity, family values and the integration of best practices within family-owned businesses.

Prince Abdulaziz said the website is to serve as a resource for analysis, strategic and succession planning, leadership development, marketing and promotion and career development. It is also a forum for debate. "Familisation, is more of a philosophy than a message - it is a coming together of cultural integrity, and best business practices. It is a philosophy that we (Fama Holdings) share along with some other people."

Prince Abdulaziz said the site was a way of improving communication between young people. "The site has been established as a chance for people to exchange thoughts - on the site they can feel comfortable exchanging them." Fama was formed in 1995 when a number of family businesses joined hands. They united for the extra strength that was needed to move into different sectors and the international market. The group is international with interests in real estate developments and technology.

With investments already in the U.S., the group is now closing deals in Europe. Prince Abdulaziz, meanwhile, is optimistic about the GCC economy. "I am always optimistic by nature. But we are seeing privatisation take place and red tape being cut, so there are some serious initiatives happening.

"But things cannot happen overnight - especially concerning sophisticated systems." Prince Abdulaziz said the GCC leads the Arab world and, in future, its members would be "in far better condition than other Middle East countries." He admitted that the slowdown of the U.S. economy was impacting the Middle East, but added that it was not an isolated concern.

For nearly two years, Fama has been involved with offset programmes, which are military and non-military deals with foreign companies that in turn invest back into that country. Prince Abdulaziz said the programme was proving to be a success in Saudi Arabia. "Its definitely working well with offsets producing for both the Saudi and foreign markets."

But there is still room for improvement. "It could be better if there were sophisticated Saudi businessmen planning creative ideas to establish more offset companies for the Saudi market."
The main benefits of the offset programme are that it is diversifying the economy, creating jobs and transferring technology, said Prince Abdulaziz, though he would not comment if the offset programme was profitable for Fama as discussions were on. Prince Abdulaziz said he was passionate about the fortunes of family businesses because their origins were firmly placed in the region's history.

"Let's go back in history - Saudi Arabia was made up of different tribes gathered under one flag by Islamic law. It is these laws that gave them the trust and confidence to work as a society," he said. "These customs are still in the hearts and souls of our generation - and this is a great advantage, we can capitalise on this."

Involved with his family business since the university days, Prince Abdulaziz says Fama has an advantage over many other companies because it was recently established. "I think we are in a far better condition than some other companies because we are starting with a clean slate to achieve our plans - it is a fresh start."

Prince Abdulaziz said he had no plans for Fama to go public. "Going public is not about right or wrong, it is about beliefs. We do not believe that Fama would go public because we do not think it needs to be." And because the board was made up of family members they shared the same culture and visions. "We do have disagreements but we do agree on the important things - what is best for the business and the family."