'We took 25 years. They wanted to do it in five years,' Mr Yip, 43, the general manager of e-government consulting at NCS told The Straits Times in a recent interview.

NCS, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SingTel, went on to clinch two contracts worth a total of US$1.3 million (S$1.9 million) as a consultant to streamline Kuwait's public services and set up a website for the public and businesses to transact with government.

NCS is one of a handful of Singapore companies that have ventured into Kuwait. Others include fashion boutique Charles & Keith, Italian restaurant chain Pastamania and bakery chain Breadtalk.

A four-day state visit by President S. R. Nathan, who arrived here on Monday, aims to boost bilateral ties that could open up more business opportunities.

Singapore's presence in this former British protectorate is small compared to that elsewhere in the Middle East such as the United Arab Emirates - including Dubai - and Qatar, said Mr Lim Ban Hoe, regional director for Middle East and Africa with trade promotion agency IE Singapore.

'In Dubai, there are almost 200 Singapore companies and about 20 in Qatar. Kuwait has fewer than 10,' said Mr Lim, 50, in a telephone interview from his office in Dubai.

One reason is that companies tend to view Kuwait - which boasts of holding 10 per cent of the world's oil reserves - as purely an oil-centric economy, he said.

But his officers have found other business opportunities where Singapore has the expertise: from infocomm technology, pre-school and higher education, to real estate development.

Infrastructure is another area, with the country having billion-dollar plans to upgrade ports and airports, build a new university campus and construct more power plants.

Kuwait has also moved to attract foreign investments so as to diversify the economy, Mr Lim noted.

This year, it cut corporate taxes from a progressive scale of up to 55 per cent, to a flat 15 per cent for foreign firms.

Some challenges of doing business in Kuwait - and in the Middle East - remain, such as the lack of skilled workers.

So, the one-million Kuwaiti nationals rely on more than two million foreigners to beef up their workforce.

Other challenges include the high cost of living, with inflation at over 10 per cent, and the six to nine months it takes for officials to award and approve public sector tenders, compared to three to four months in neighbouring countries.

Mr Lim believes President Nathan's visit will create goodwill at the government-to-government level that will percolate down to businesses.

He said, 'It will help to introduce Singapore's expertise and generate interest to look at our companies' capabilities.'