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City Guide - Reykjavik - Business | ||
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Business Business Profile: A quick walk around the harbour area in Reykjavik is enough to see how dependent the city is on the sea as its main source of income. The annual catch for the whole country averages about 1.6 million tonnes. The majority of the fish caught in the waters around Reykjavik heads overseas for export in the form of shellfish, canned fish, cod-liver oil, shellfish, frozen or cod liver oil, frozen and smoked fish and other fish by-products. But the city's economy, like that of Iceland generally, has diversified in recent years so that the share of marine products in total exports has fallen from around 90% in the early 1960s to less than half today. Tourism is Reykjavik's most important source of foreign revenue after fishing and it has been targeted by the government for growth. The aim is to increase the number of visitors to the city by 8% so that overall income from tourism will equal 354 million Pounds by the year 2005. Other industries include the sale of minerals, such as aluminium, ferro-silicon, cement and nitrates. One of the newest companies in Reykjavik is deCODE, a biotechnology company set up by ex-Harvard professor Kári Stefánsson, which started off in 1996 with only 20 people. Now employing 200 and having won a contract worth 125 million Pounds from Hoffman-LaRoche, the company hopes to become a centrepoint for the local economy. Indeed, Reykjavik has traditionally been very attractive to foreign investors because of its low unemployment rate (less than 3%), its highly educated work force and low energy costs. Business Etiquette: When meeting a business counterpart in Iceland, a handshake is the normal form of greeting. Businesspeople are expected to dress smartly, although casual wear is widely accepted for social functions. Although in general, an Icelander's second language is Danish, a very high proportion of the population is fluent in English. Visits between May and September should be planned in advance as many businesspeople go on trips abroad at this time. July is the holiday month and offices often close down for a three-week annual break. Standard office hours are 0900-1700 Monday to Friday. Characteristically, Icelanders are reserved (except on Friday nights) but very direct. Visitors are often invited into homes, especially if on business, and bringing a gift for the host is the norm (a bottle of foreign wine is always welcomed). Instead of surnames, the majority of Icelanders use the system of patronymics. Instead of a surname the first name of the father is used plus plus son (son) or daughter (dóttir). Because of this, the telephone directory is listed by first name. |