The dough in Doha
Step aside Dubai, Qatar also wants to become a regional financial services hub.
Last week, Qatar and Dubai teamed up to create a new US$1bn investment vehicle to look at regional investment opportunities. The Qatar Financial Centre (QFC) regulatory authority recently granted Citigroup a banking licence to open a corporate branch, while Barclays got the nod in September. The banks will have their offices in the QFC headquarters in Doha.
The chairman of the QFC regulatory authority, Phillip Thorpe, recently said the finance ministry could open the umbrella regulator, which has yet to be named, by 2009.
"There is significant interest in Qatar because of the substantial gas reserves and development programmes there - and Qatar wants to become a leading financial centre," says Isam Salah, co-chair of the Middle East-Islamic finance practice at King & Spalding, a law firm with offices in Dubai and New York.
Barbara Van Meir, director of financial services at WoodHamill Ingram, says: "In Qatar, we see activity across the board. However, for the moment, it seems most concentrated in traditional arenas such as corporate banking. There is also increasing interest in capital markets and investment banking."
A senior local recruiter in Dubai says they get at least a few requests per month from companies looking to hire financial analysts and senior financial controllers. "However, we do believe more companies are looking to hire in the coming months," he says.
Compensation is rising fast and is comparable to Dubai for high calibre executives, says Van Meir. A financial analyst can expect to get a tax-free salary in the region of US$66k per year, plus the usual allowances for housing and transportation, while credit and risk analysts can get anywhere between US$72k and US$78k, plus medical and life insurance.
