Bankers eye alternatives to Dubai

17 November 2008

2 minute read

It's no secret that Dubai is currently attracting swathes of international bankers to its borders, but Western talent is coming round to the idea of moving out to other areas of the Gulf.

As competition heats up in the UAE, areas previously thought of as 'hardship postings' are being viewed as more attractive, and offer opportunities aplenty.

"Saudi and Kuwait have typically been very difficult locations to sell to Western investment bankers, but people are increasingly receptive," says Peter Greaves, director of financial services at Dubai-based headhunter McArthur Murray.

"Six to eight months ago, Qatar was not such an attractive option, but it's up and coming and Westerners are beginning to realise that," he adds.

Speaking at the Reuters Middle East Investment Summit, Yann Pavie, CEO of Kuwaiti investment firm GulfMerger, said that oil-rich Kuwait is also being bombarded with applications from Western investment bankers.

"More than you can imagine, CVs from all over the world, all unsolicited from Australia to Europe," he said.

Bahrain was previously the GCC's banking giant, but has since been usurped by Dubai. Now it's making moves to redress the balance.

The likes of Credit Suisse and BNP Paribas Asset Management have gained licences in 2008, and the Central Bank of Bahrain (CBB) reckons it has a waiting list of between 30 and 50 global banking players looking to enter the kingdom.

"The level of interest shown by the world in Bahrain and the Middle East at large is immense," says a CBB spokesperson.

AUTHORPaul Clarke

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hmansari
21 November 2008
How can there be alternatives? or a new outlook if the hiring process just accepts more of the same for every position. it will just be more of the same because of the way of thinking is exactly the same..
What the world banking needs to look at is getting some new blood from the outside to make changes.. otherwise there will not be any alternatives just the same with different faces.
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sa
saikat kumar
20 November 2008
Its difficult situation ,probably first of its kind in modern day.Yeah ofcourse the Gulf market will do better as long oil price will hover around $ 70 to 80 below this level is difficult for the economic development for this region.Real eastate industry has weed out huge money .Banks and financial market got affected.
GCC is any in a better situation than rest of the world - US,Europe,Far East.China and India will recover fast so as the job market.
Saikat Kumar
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Pi
Pierre Copti
18 November 2008
banking on what ?oil prices are heading south, stock markets have plunged, retail banking will naturally shrink, bank margins will narrow, private equity deals have dried up,hedge funds have lost attraction , governement spending will be reduced. Attractive environement indeed.
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Q8
Q8
17 November 2008
Yeah right.. The western bankers were previously picky when it comes to Middle East or Gulf countries. Now the table has turned and they're starting to praise the gulf markets and somehow come up with positive aspects for markets they refrained from considering before.. It's not because the gulf market is efficient place to work in, but it's because that's where there is still some liquidity left as a result of their oil sales, and hence more business is expected to take place there, but not for long bankers.. oil is going down the drains as time passes and recession will hit these markets too and they won't afford your salaries.
Another challenge western bankers will face there is their disorientation with the regional culture of conducting business in this area which is way different from what they're used to in their western economies.
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