The unrest in countries like Egypt, Tunisia, Bahrain and Libya is concerning for British companies who trade in those markets, but not just for commercial reasons. FM Sudafix Group Strategy & Communications Director, Sean Elliott-Maher, was contacted by the BBC through their Radio Nottingham branch to discuss the impact that it was having on businesses in the East Midlands of the UK. Also joined in the debate by George Cowcher, the Chief Executive of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, Elliott-Maher highlighted that the whilst the Arabian markets were very important to ongoing business concerns that the most important aspect to consider is the humanitarian aspect.
One of the areas of discussion was what would be the domestic (UK) consequences if the unrest continued and expanded across to the Gulf States (GCC region); Sean Elliott-Maher stated that whilst he thought that it was unlikely to spread throughout the territory it could have a dramatic impact, potentially costing the company tens of millions of pounds, but that even in that worst case scenario every proactive measure would be taken to protect jobs and reassign staff to domestic projects, but that “difficult decisions” could not be ruled out; the website has asked him to elaborate:
“First and foremost I want to go on the record as stating that the FM Sudafix Group is most concerned, above anything else, with the human cost in the unrest because you cannot view these events at arms length; however that does not mean that we can sidestep the issue of what it could mean to the business performance and scope of operations for the company. Much of the current tone of debate is reactionary and almost alarmist when discussing the impacts on business caused by the events in the Arab world. We need to consider the root causes of what has generated the unrest. The people of the Middle East and Arabic countries of Africa share many of the same values as people in any other part of the world, and unrest is more likely in any society when you have concentrated centres of dissatisfied or disenfranchised poor, once these conditions are present then riots can occur and even transform into outright revolt, which is what we have seen.
“The FM Sudafix Group works in these countries, just like other international markets, on significant projects with a specific focus on power generation and transmission, telecommunication infrastructure and rail projects, which are the exact sorts of projects that require if not government funding then government sanction. A decentralised or disbanded government makes these sorts of projects difficult if not impossible, but they are necessary and as such will resume when stability is established. Will unrest spread throughout the GCC? I doubt it due to a higher standard of living and civically minded governments, which is an observation based upon inward investment, not a value judgment which would be beyond my limited experience. If it were to spread though, in a worst case scenario, on a purely business level it would cost the company tens of millions of pounds. Would such a situation result in company collapse? Not at all, we are not that dependent upon the market, but it would make things difficult.
“Also there has been an argument voiced that there is a moral question as to whether British companies should be working with these countries at all, which I think is such a narrow minded view and I believe during our discussion with the BBC George Crowcher addressed particularly well. The point is that Britain generates talented people and can provide specialist products and the people of countries all over the world can benefit from them. If British companies are helping to bring effective power, communications, safe water systems, effective transport and other vital services to the people of these countries. I am proud of our humanitarian efforts and the support we provide to developing countries, we very much consider ourselves a conscience and we always attempt to drive resources into the communities that generate our success. Businesses are run by people, and business is conducted between people, so the situation facing people in these regions is of paramount importance. I have friends and colleagues in these areas, just like everyone else in the company, and their health and wellbeing is essential. On a personal level I believe that no government should enact violence upon its people, wherever it is in the world and that wholly transcends any business issue. It is a moral responsibility for governments to act as a defender of its people, not as an aggressor, and that value should not be confined to judgements of the Arab world. I trust that recent unrest and responses offer lessons and reminders to all governments.
“In a worst case scenario we may have to take difficult decisions, but that would only happen after we had exhausted every opportunity to allocate human resource to other territories or domestic projects. The actual situation, as our team knows, is that we will continue to actively look to expand our team, so reducing staff levels could not be further from our ambition or business plan. Both internal and external parties need to focus on doing what we can to ensure a lasting peaceful settlement is reached and get back to providing our expertise and products to benefit these nations as soon as possible.”
You can listen to the interview below:
