[Brief translation]
Wealthy Arab markets magnet for entrepreneurs but Japan firms still few At Kuwait's state-run oil refinery along the Persian Gulf coast, a newly improved power generation facility is scheduled for a test run this summer. Backing the effort is Japanese venture firm Xenesys Inc., based in the city of Akashi, Hyogo Prefecture. For Kuwait, whose water sources are limited, the technology is also of great national interest for its desalination functions. This is Xenesys's second project in the Middle East, following one in Saudi Arabia. But getting this far was a challenge.
The company attended as many business dinners as it could with local officials to gather information. "We had no business experience here, so we had to make connections," said Masafumi Okubo, president of Xenesys Arabia. The big break came two-and-a-half years ago, during a meeting held at a royal race track in the outskirts of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia's capital city. In attendance were a president of a major financial clique, a chairman of a leading bank and other heavy hitters. The intense questioning lasted two hours. In the end, a statement by Xenesys President Kiminao Satomi helped seal the deal. "All we want is 40% of the company," he said. "You have the management rights." In October of 2004, a joint venture was formed. An investor source from the Saudi side said, "This is a country where things happen only when powerful leaders get together." In the Middle East, where top-level discussions are highly valued, the fate of a business depends on the speed with which decisions are made. This is a lesson Okubo learned well.