Who's been hiring in the Middle East in November?
With increasingly grim tidings for multinational banks in November, the Gulf region has not been immune to headcount trimming. However, it continues to attract new players and others are expanding. Here's our monthly round-up of people moves in the GCC.
Alpari, a forex specialist, has launched a regional office in Dubai. It intends to offer individual traders, fund managers and institutional customers its trading technology.
BNP Paribas, which currently has two offices, in Dubai and Abu-Dhabi, says it has plans to expand the number of branches it has in the UAE in a bid to get closer to clients in what it views as a "strategic" country. It didn't specify where the expansion will occur or what job opportunities will be created.
Barclays said that it plans to expand its Middle Eastern footprint and is "open to acquisitions", aided by the cash injection from Abu-Dhabi royal Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan. It said that it plans to advise cash-rich clients to move out into credit and equity markets.
Credit Suisse took majority ownership of Saudi Swiss Securities in order to undertake private banking, investment banking and asset management in the kingdom. It told us it has plans to expand this venture.
Deutsche Bank created a new team to specialise in wealth planning and fiduciary solutions. It intends to bolster its wealth management offering in the region.
Dresdner Bank gained a licence from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) with the aim of offering its products to high-net-worth individuals and private clients in the region. It currently has 10 employees in Dubai.
Pharos Financial Group became the first Russia-focused hedge fund to set up in the GCC when it opened a new office in the DIFC. Founder Peter Halloran reckons there's a growing demand among investors in the region for asset management focused on Russia.
Sungard, the financial IT vendor, has opened a new headquarters in the DIFC in a bid to capitalise on regional banks' increasing appetite for technology. Specifically, it's targeting Islamic banks with its Shariah-compliant system.
