Halliburton moving HQ to Dubai

herekitty · #1 03-12-2007, 11:52 PM

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070312/...8ObGkL3M WM0F

Quote:

By JIM KRANE, Associated Press Writer Sun Mar 11, 9:01 PM ET

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates - Oil services giant Halliburton Co. will soon shift its corporate headquarters from Houston to the Mideast financial powerhouse of Dubai, chief executive Dave Lesar announced Sunday.

"Halliburton is opening its corporate headquarters in Dubai while maintaining a corporate office in Houston," spokeswoman Cathy Mann said in an e-mail to The Associated Press. "The chairman, president and CEO will office from and be based in Dubai to run the company from the UAE."

Lesar, speaking at an energy conference in nearby Bahrain, said he will relocate to Dubai from Texas to oversee Halliburton's intensified focus on business in the Mideast and energy-hungry Asia, home to some of the world's most important oil and gas markets.

"As the CEO, I'm responsible for the global business of Halliburton in both hemispheres and I will continue to spend quite a bit of time in an airplane as I remain attentive to our customers, shareholders and employees around the world," Lesar said. "Yes, I will spend the majority of my time in Dubai."

Lesar's announcement appears to signal one of the highest-profile moves by a U.S. corporate leader to Dubai, an Arab boomtown where free-market capitalism has been paired with some of the world's most liberal tax, investment and residency laws.

"The eastern hemisphere is a market that is more heavily weighted toward oil exploration and production opportunities and growing our business here will bring more balance to Halliburton's overall portfolio," Lesar said.

In 2006, Halliburton — once headed by Vice President
Dick Cheney — earned profits of $2.3 billion on revenues of $22.6 billion.

More than 38 percent of Halliburton's $13 billion oil field services revenue last year stemmed from sources in the eastern hemisphere, where the firm has 16,000 of its 45,000 employees.

Cheney was Halliburton's chief executive from 1995-2000 and the Bush administration has been accused of favoring the conglomerate with lucrative no-bid contracts in
Iraq.

Federal investigators last month alleged Halliburton was responsible for $2.7 billion of the $10 billion in contractor waste and overcharging in Iraq.

Halliburton last month announced a 40-percent decline in fourth-quarter profit, despite heavy demand for its oil field equipment and personnel.

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bort · #2 03-13-2007, 12:27 AM

Dubai is so hot currently.

herekitty · #3 03-13-2007, 09:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bort

Dubai is so hot currently.

do you think it has anything to do with their liberal tax laws?
or are you talking temperature wise?

ThePrude · #4 03-13-2007, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by herekitty

do you think it has anything to do with their liberal tax laws?

I just found this from a offshore investment site:

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http://www.shelteroffshore.com/index...eaty_benefits/

As Dubai is a ‘no tax’ emirate its double taxation treaties are actually designed to make it an even more attractive destination and prospect for those individuals and companies who originate from countries with aggressive taxation policies.

The treaties are in place to further reduce any potential taxation burdens being levied against foreign companies and citizens operating in the UAE and Dubai who remit their profits abroad.

Double taxation agreements exist between the UAE and Algeria, China, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Kuwait, Malaysia, Malta, Pakistan, Poland, Romania, Singapore, South Korea, Sudan, Syria, Turkey and Yemen.

Each treaty agrees that the profits a company earns from shares, dividends, interest, royalties or fees will only be taxable in the ‘contracting state’ in which the profit has been earned - and there is no restriction stating that such income must be taxed at any give level to qualify for this benefit.

This means that such profits earned in Dubai may not be taxed at all as corporate income tax is not levied in the UAE!

Simply put, dividend income paid by a company in Dubai to a company which has a double taxation treaty with the UAE may not necessarily be taxable in the hands of the foreign parent corporation even though it has not been taxed in Dubai either as it will be considered to have been taxed at 0% in Dubai.

But before you all get too excited, unfortunately not all international or foreign companies in the UAE are so fortunate!

Some of the more taxation hungry and repressive nations globally have anti-avoidance legislation in place which puts paid to these benefits. Such legislation can either set minimum taxation levels for a company’s profits, or else the legislation can set out lists of low-taxation countries which don’t actually qualify under their tax treaties.

This means that it is important for foreign corporations and international businesses interested in establishing themselves in Dubai to study and understand the tax legislation of each of Dubai’s treaty partners as well as getting to grips with the exact text of the UAE’s double taxation treaties before accepting anything about the potential tax treatment of income flows that originate in Dubai.

Dubai and the UAE are doing everything they can to attract foreign investment, but unfortunately many other countries globally are doing everything they can to restrict freedom and stop free trade in an attempt to hold on to as much taxation as they can!

brookelyn · #5 03-13-2007, 08:05 PM

i love and miss dubai

i am thinking of going for a visit this spring. it will be 10 years since i graduated! unbelievable!
i recently went on the google satelite maps and found my old house which i thought was rad!

SOG · #6 03-13-2007, 08:09 PM

really what was it like growing up there? sounds interesting...

ThePrude · #7 03-13-2007, 08:10 PM

My friend went there last year, and she said it was amazing. I heard that they have the only 7-star hotel in the world there.

brookelyn · #8 03-13-2007, 08:21 PM

well its much more developed now. when i lived there development had really just begun. but i had a good time. it was quite liberal and us kids got to run around and do whatever. taxis are abundant (like in nyc) and very very cheap so we;d take off and hang around town. at the time, the drinking age/restriction was very lenient so getting into clubs was no problem and getting a prescription in a pharmacy was as easy as asking for it. that has changed a lot since i was there but we sure abused it. i went to the american school which was right off beach road and we'd pass the zoo too and from school. the giraffe kept dying and having to be replaced because there was a supermarket a few blocks down and those plastic bags would fly in the air and the giraffe would eat them and die. it was quite hot most of the time but we got used to it. there was prayer call several times a day and the mosques were on practically every corner. from my bedroom i would get surround sound calls from at least 3 mosques near by and others in the distance. at first it drove me crazy but i soon grew used to it and now the sound of prayer call is soothing and comforting to me. we used to drink way too much and have lots of parties at this compound called cbg mostly. lots of people lived there as it was some kind of corporate housing for one of those companies, maybe even haliburton, i could never keep them all straight. i lived across the street from the hilton beach club so often times we would go there after school and eat some food, have a drink, and go lie on the beach or swim in the pool. for the most part it was really fun and lush but there were some dangers to watch out for. you don't fuck with locals. i had a canadian friend that was raped by a local and ended up being thrown in jail and then deported because it was her fault. shiek mo is a genius and he is the reason why dubai is what it is today. i have utmost respect for him. there were these things called super shamals where it would get extremely windy to the point you could nearly walk with your bodya t a 45 degree angle to the ground without falling over. very very weird! also we'd go out into the desert quite often to drive on the dunes. they call it wadi bashing. its a really crazy experience to be out in the empty quarter with nothing but mountains of beautiful sand. also there were mountainous areas and we would go camping sometimes and swim in the springs. there is tons and tons of gold in dubai. the gold souk is the most impressive display of gold collections ive ever seen. imagine a massive mall where every store is dripping with gold and jewels. its really a bit obnoxious even. there is a lot more but these are just some things i thought of off the top of my head. it was very cool to live there and experience that and i am proud of the progress the city has made. its nice to remember and makes me miss it even more.

zoanthropy · #9 03-13-2007, 08:23 PM

Halliburton better move his ass out of United States...

This whole middle east mess is all his fault...

Why doesn't somebody just shoot him?

brookelyn · #10 03-13-2007, 08:26 PM

yes. it was built on a man-made island and looks like a giant sail. they started construction on it the year i graduated. they have also started construction on several man made islands. an adventurous and expensive undertaking. when iw as living there was in the late 90s and i really remember being very impresse dby sheik mo and his desire to build dubai into a relevant city. he was responsible for the widespread use of the internet and very passionate about expanding their capabilities within the middle east at that time.

brookelyn · #11 03-13-2007, 08:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zoanthropy

Halliburton better move his ass out of United States...

This whole middle east mess is all his fault...

Why doesn't somebody just shoot him?

haliburton is not a person

ThePrude · #12 03-13-2007, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brookelyn

haliburton is not a person

hehehe

Sounds like a cool place Brooke. Your description combined with my friend's make me want to visit.

brookelyn · #13 03-13-2007, 08:33 PM

if it weren't impossibly hot in the summer (think 120+) i would love to move back there... i highly recommend visiting. if you do go, let me know beforehand as i know loads of people there still who would be happy to show you around.

discolexy · #14 03-13-2007, 08:45 PM

i went there for an hour during a stopover to london and omg. it was so humid. at 1am.

brookelyn · #15 03-13-2007, 08:48 PM

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Originally Posted by discolexy

i went there for an hour during a stopover to london and omg. it was so humid. at 1am.

i just saw your thread and gave you some advice thinking you were referring to this july coming. i can feel it now. so gross! the humidity/heat mixed with the hardcore air conditioners kept at frigid temperatures. ugh. but its pretty and fun!

discolexy · #16 03-13-2007, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brookelyn

i just saw your thread and gave you some advice thinking you were referring to this july coming. i can feel it now. so gross! the humidity/heat mixed with the hardcore air conditioners kept at frigid temperatures. ugh. but its pretty and fun!

i got off the plane WHOOSH i thought it was the humidity coming off the engines? after an hour inside the airport i started getting sweaty AGAIN.

crassy · #17 03-13-2007, 09:26 PM

I wanna visit there badly. One of my classmates got an internship in Dubai, and I have a cousin who worked there. Both have really interesting stories about it.

orchestral · #18 03-13-2007, 09:27 PM

watch me predict the future:

in 2020 Halliburton will move their headquarters to The Moon, where they will monopolize all the H3 in the world, and sell it at inordinate prices, causing the west to become outrageously wealthy, and the rest of the world to live in crushing poverty and hunger.

" LET THEM EAT CAKE!!!!!"

bort · #19 03-13-2007, 11:45 PM

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