RAK to the future

As Sheikh Tariq puts it "RAK has the highest point in the UAE, a summit reaching 2000 metres. Mountains are abundant; we have a long beach and green areas. Naturally it is a nice place."

Not only is the natural beauty attractive, RAK is also rich in resources. Most of the fresh water in the UAE comes from RAK. (Masafi, one of biggest bottled water suppliers in the Gulf is based in RAK). It has mountains replete with limestone; more than 75% of the cement produced in the UAE comes from the emirate. Rocks from the mountains are used for roads and construction, and large rocks are used for reclamation projects including Palm Island in Dubai and RAK's Saraya Islands.

The past performance of the emirate could be an indicator for future success. There are two RAK business stories to look at: Sheikh Tariq's holding company and RAK Ceramics. Union Group was formed in 1985 by Sheikh Tariq Alqassimi. Upon his return from the US with a degree in engineering, he worked with the federal government for a year and then set up his first shipping business. While he was building his holding company, he also worked for the RAK government for 10 years, holding several positions, and finally heading the civil aviation department. In 1998, he restructured the Union Group of Companies (UGC), left his government post, and focused on business full time.

UGC is involved in three main areas including shipping, real estate, and IT services. The first business the group started was in shipping. UGC has a complete integration of companies that provides full logistical support in the sector. But it did not start that way. It was a staggered investment.

Sheikh Tariq identified an opening in the market in 1986 and started a stevedoring business. Stevedoring is the loading and unloading of ships. One of UGC's subsidiaries is the official stevedores for the ports of Ras Al Khaimah and Ajman, and the leading stevedores in Fujeirah. This one part of the shipping business could have been enough to build an empire upon, but UGC established and acquired companies that completed the vertical. Its activities now includes port management, ship repair, transport, and shipping services.

UGC, along with Dubai-based ETA manage the Ajman port in the UAE. In ship repairs, the holding company has capabilities in repairs and renovation including ship conversion to alternate uses. To fulfill the rest of the logistics chain, UGC operates a fleet of specialised trucks for bulk transport, and shipping services in chartering, clearing and forwarding.

Eyeing an under serviced segment in the market and building companies to support the demand is a shared trait among all successful entrepreneurs. Giving future businessmen advice, and displaying pride of his accomplishments, Sheikh Tariq says "I always tried in all my business ventures to be a pioneer, I never wanted to come and duplicate what others are doing. When we first started in the shipping market, we were the first local shipping company in RAK. We have now had a presence in the international shipping community for the past 20 years."

Following his pioneering philosophy, and making use of property ownership restrictions in the GCC, Sheikh Tariq naturally steered his investments towards real estate. Throughout the past two decades, UGC was involved in land sales and developments around the UAE. When freehold laws were established, UGC was prepared to make the most of it.

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