Four NZ companies join up in Dubai

Four New Zealand technology companies have signed on to New Zealand Trade and Enterprise's (NZTE) new business beachhead, which opens in Dubai tomorrow.

The beachhead is designed to help New Zealand companies build a presence in Dubai, and will offer shared office space and administration services as well as introductions to a network of local contacts.

Fisher & Paykel Healthcare, Mercer Technologies, Argent Networks and 4RF Communications are part of the new programme, which will be known as New Zealand Technology Oasis in Dubai.

F&P Healthcare has been selling its respiratory humidifiers and obstructive sleep apnea devices to the Middle East for several years.

But this will be the first time the company will have someone based in the region, a move F&P Healthcare corporate relations spokesman Simon Hall expects to boost business.

"We are just scratching the surface at the moment. When you've got markets the size of Egypt, with over 70 million people, and countries like Iran opening up and Algeria and Libya in the future, then the opportunities are immense," he said.

Mercer Technologies general manager Chris de Klerk also sees the Middle East as a very large potential market.

"We have signed up to the beachhead because we see benefits from being in a New Zealand environment, and because it is more cost effective than servicing the market from New Zealand or setting up our own office in the market," Mr de Klerk said.

NZTE also runs beachhead programmes in Britain, the United States, Japan and Singapore.

- NZPA