By Sarah Al-Mukhaizeem
KUWAIT, Jan 31 (KUNA) -- When the import business boomed in the State of Kuwait in the early 1900s, "Al-Comasiyoun", derived from the word commission, were the first professionals to get heavily involved in the business, setting negotiations between foreign companies and local businesses for a considerable commission fee.
In his books documenting professions, jobs, and early commercial activities in old Kuwait, researcher Mohammad Abdulhadi Jamal said such trades thrived in the 1920s and 30s, indicating that British companies were the first to seek deals with local traders to promote their brands.
He indicated that the imports business expanded with Kuwaiti businessmen importing from Europe and expanding more to reach the US, Japan, and elsewhere.
Jamal also noted that various youth in that period began to learn English and became go-betweens for local Kuwaiti traders and foreign businesses especially in the 1940s for a fee of around two to five percent per transaction The Kuwaiti researcher affirmed that local businessmen and traders were keen on hiring such individuals who themselves opened offices promoting their services to bring various kinds of goods to Kuwait.
Al-Comasiyoun helped to lay the foundations of Kuwait's trade relations through their connections with chambers of commerce around the globe, affirmed Jamal, adding that the traders were known to have gained the trust of banks especially the British Bank of the Middle East, the only bank operating in Kuwait in 1952, and then the National Bank of Kuwait (NBK), which was established at the end of the same year.
Jamal revealed that permits to import goods were issued by the British political residency in Kuwait.
He said Al-Comasiyoun thrived in that period and began to hire employees to handle the increasing tasks, adding that imported goods were in heavy demands upon arrival with business personnel from Saudi Arab, Iran, and Iraq seeking to obtain their goods as soon as they arrived to Kuwait.
Al-Comasiyoun built a strong reputation for themselves, becoming heads of imported goods dealerships, selling products both in Kuwait and abroad. (end) sm.gta