Introduction Furniture Fripe Incorporation is a private limited company which operates within the UK office furniture industry. The firm’s core product category entails provision of office furniture. To meet its customer’s demands, the firm has integrated the concept of product diversification which has been attained through incorporation of a number of product lines. Some of the furniture products which the firm supplies include chairs, desks, filing cabinets and tables in its product portfolio. Since its inception in 2000, the firm has been very successful with regard to marketing its products in its domestic market. To attain its profit maximization objective, the firm intends expand into the global market. According to Kazmi (2008, p.207), there are different market expansion strategies that firms can adopt in their strategic management processes. One these strategies entails the internationalization strategy. Andexter (2008, p.70) asserts that there are different internationalization options that a firm can consider. Some of these include; exportation, licensing, franchising, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) and formation of strategic alliances. In its effort to enter into the international market, the management team of Furniture Fripe has adopted the exportation strategy. The firm has cited China, United Arabs Emirates [UAE] and Saudi Arabia as its potential export destination. As a result, the management team has appreciated the importance of conducting a comprehensive analysis with regard to the external environment. This paper outlines an analysis of Saudi Arabia, China and UAE external analysis on the basis of the PEST model. Political and legal environment Analysis of the political risk of a particular country is a major factor which should be taken into consideration when expanding into the international market (Onkvisit & Shaw, 2008, p.125). A number of elements should be taken into consideration when evaluating a country’s political environment. The most important factors relate to political stability, bureaucracy and legal framework and taxation. The table below illustrates the ranking of the three countries on the basis of these elements. Political and legal environment indicator  China                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                UAE                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Saudi Arabia                                                                                                                                                             Political stability                        Relatively High- China undertook numerous political reforms during the 1970s which has resulted into improvement in its polit