From the Managing Partner's Desk

We are pleased to inform you of the opening of a new specialist hospitality and property consulting office in Dubai through PKF The Consulting House. PKF in the UAE are now capable of rendering value added consultancy services to the Hospitality, Tourism, Leisure, and property industries. See the write up under PKF International inside (page 4) for details and contacts. Also, PKF now have an associated office in Doha, Qatar. The Doha office is a joint venture between Mr.Navid Jaberi, a professionally qualified Qatari national, and PKF UAE, PKF Cyprus and PKF Bahrain. Mr. Jaberi was with PriceWaterhouseCooopers previously. Please contact our office in Dubai or Abu Dhabi initially for any assistance in Qatar.

We are grateful to Mr. Humaid Al Qutami, General Manager, Emirates Institute for Banking and Financial Studies who agreed to contribute to the Guest Column in this issue. We profile Mr. Vijay Bhatt the partner who heads the Attest services of our associates, RSM & Co. in India.

The importance to an entrepreneur of an objective feasibility study carried out by an experienced professional before committing funds to a venture is brought out in the article on Feasibility Studies. For entrepreneurs at the other end of the spectrum i.e. who are thinking of retirement or downsizing their investment, the article 'Cashing In' shows the different ways of accessing the value in the business that you have spent many years building.

The article on the Indian Union budget for 2004-05 by Mr.Ashok Wadhwa, Managing Partner of our Indian associates, takes a critical look at tax reforms in India. The update on Oman features the Sultanate's budget for 2005. The Free Zone updates feature the Dubai Biotechnology and Research Park and the E-Office Centre in the Ajman Free Zone.

Please feel free to write (update@pkfuae.com) if you would like to express an opinion on any matter inside.