'I was taken aback when I visited Dubai in 1985'

Jacky Panjabi, who made his mind to establish a business in Dubai during a two-day stop-over more than 30 years ago, now cannot even think of living in any other place

Today, Dubai International airport is the world's busiest airport for international passengers and a significant number of passengers transit through this airport every day.
But there might be a few examples like Jacky Panjabi, who made his mind to establish a business in Dubai during a two-day stop-over in Dubai more than 30 years ago. And now Jacky's Electronics is a household name in the UAE. Jacky Panjabi is managing director of Jacky's Group of Companies.
Speaking to Khaleej Times, Panjabi recalled: "I had lived in Hong Kong since 1969 and for almost 15 years, I have been running our family business there and spearheaded our company's first office incorporation on 21st July 1970.
"In February 1985, I was en route to London for a business travel and on my way back to Hong Kong, I decided to stop-over for two days in Dubai."

Challenging initial days Having lived for many years in Hong Kong, Jacky Panjabi was taken aback when he arrived in Dubai for the first time in 1985, as the city back then has no proper street or road names. He told Khaleej Times that the earlier days were challenging for several reasons. Firstly, the weather was really hot. Secondly, there were no taxi metres yet and he was always bargaining on fares from Dh3 to Dh5, for the same distance. Most of the drivers back then weren't able to read or understand English clearly. Thirdly, starting a new business here required having a local sponsor, which was something totally new for him.

He added: "Having lived for many years in Hong Kong, which was a much developed city, I was taken aback when I first came to Dubai as the city back then has no proper street or road names.
"While in transit, I decided to visit some of the consumer electronics companies and when I asked for some directions, no one was able to guide me clearly as most were just mentioning building names (ex: near or opposite Al Attar Building) but no proper street names.
"When I boarded a taxi and requested him to take me to a particular place but it wasn't successful as most of the drivers back then weren't able to read or understand English clearly. So it was very difficult for me to meet many companies at the time of my first visit to Dubai."
How the company was set up
Despite the initial difficulties during the two-day visit he got a different impression from a business point of view.
After meeting with few companies, he realised the ease of doing business in Dubai particularly when comparing prices.
He said: "As soon as I was back in Hong Kong, I discussed with my elder brother, Ishwar Panjabi, who was our company's group president then, some potential business in Dubai. After some time, he asked me to visit the Emirate again to do buying for our business.."
He recalled that during the initial visit, probably the biggest surprise was the difference in how business hours were conducted.
"In Hong Kong, we had straight shift from 9am to 6pm with one hour lunch break in between, whereas here in Dubai, business hours are from 9am to 1pm then 4to 8pm. So I really don't know what to do in between those three hours as I did not know too many people back then."
"On my 2nd visit in May 1985, I studied the Dubai market to see whether we can start-up a business here," he said.
Finally, in August 1985, the group established a start-up company in Dubai to mainly source the products from the emirate.
Talking about business environment in Dubai, he said Dubai has become more efficient and business friendly.
Government services that used to take weeks, if not months, is done today over a smartphone app instantly and transparently.
Today, it is much easier for anyone to start-up a new business in Dubai and the UAE ever since it was moved online.
Also, there are many agencies that are ready to help you in establishing a new business.
Although Panjabi lived in Hong Kong for 27 years and his company is still running there for the past 45 years, he considers Dubai as his home.
"It is also great experience that we get to meet the rulers of UAE, which is very unlikely in many other countries," he said.
Now Dubai is his home and couldn't even think of staying anywhere else, even though he is very fond of Singapore.
The entrepreneur said: "Golden Rule for myself is that there is no short cut to success.
He has an advice for new comers - Listen to your heart, never copy others and be original.
He has received many awards here in the UAE such as the Indian CEO Awards 2015, A visionary Awards, and Forbes Middle East Top 100 in 2015 among others.
abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com
(As told to Abdul Basit)

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