Key takeaways
- Three workable layouts: mirrored two-column, sequential Arabic-then-English, or an Arabic summary inside an English profile.
- Translate the sections a reader must verify — legal, licence, scope and contact — before translating marketing copy.
- Use a professional translator for legal and licence wording; machine output shows in exactly the places that get checked.
- Right-to-left layout affects page order, alignment, numbering and cover design, not just text direction.
Three layout options and when each works
| Layout | How it looks | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Mirrored two-column | Arabic right column, English left, same page | Short profiles and submissions checked line by line |
| Sequential | Full Arabic section, then full English section | 12+ page profiles where clauses and case studies run long |
| Arabic executive summary | English profile with a 1–2 page Arabic summary | Private-sector buyers who work in English but circulate internally |
Mirrored layouts look impressive but constrain design badly once paragraphs differ in length between languages. For anything above about eight pages, sequential is easier to keep clean and cheaper to update.
Which sections to translate first
- Company identification: legal name, licence number, issuing authority, registered address.
- Legal and tax information, including the tax registration number where you display it.
- Scope of activities and services — this is what determines eligibility in most reviews.
- Key projects and clients, with names transliterated consistently.
- Contact page, bank details and authorised signatory information.
- Vision, mission and narrative copy — last, because nobody verifies it.
Right-to-left layout details that get missed
- Reading order flips: the cover, page numbering and any progress indicators should follow it.
- Arabic text needs slightly more line height than Latin text at the same point size to stay legible.
- Choose a typeface with a proper Arabic cut rather than relying on a fallback font, which produces uneven weight.
- Numbers, dates and currency codes are usually kept in Western digits in business documents — be consistent throughout.
- Tables mirror too: header order, alignment and the reading direction of columns.
Translation quality where it counts
Legal and licence wording is the part a reviewer compares against source documents, so it should be translated by someone who works with corporate documents — ideally the same legal translator you use for other filings. Company names, authority names and activity descriptions should match the official Arabic already printed on your licence rather than being retranslated from English.
Keep a glossary of your own recurring terms — company name, activity descriptions, job titles, project names — so successive updates stay consistent. Inconsistent transliteration of a company name across pages is a small error that reads as carelessness.
Where a submission must be in Arabic or requires a legal translation, confirm the requirement with the receiving authority before printing and signing. Requirements differ between mainland registries, free zones and individual government buyers.
Keeping two languages in sync
Version drift is the real maintenance problem. Keep both language versions in one editable master so a licence renewal or new project is updated once, and label the file with a version date. If you must maintain separate files, put a short change log on the last page of each.
Create the document
DocMak's Company Profile Maker supports Arabic and English content in the same editable document, so you can produce a bilingual PDF without rebuilding the layout. For structure and section wording, start from the company profile format guide.
Frequently asked questions
Is an Arabic company profile mandatory in the UAE?
It is not a universal requirement. Some government and semi-government buyers ask for Arabic or bilingual documents; many private buyers accept English. Check the specific tender or registration requirements.
Should the Arabic or English version prevail?
For a marketing document it rarely matters, but if the profile is attached to a contractual submission, state which language prevails and keep that consistent with the underlying contract.
Can we use one profile across the GCC?
Largely yes, if you keep country-specific identifiers in a short annex — tax registration numbers, local partner or branch details, and any market-specific approvals.