The new must-have in the UAE: Chinese bankers

The Middle Eastern banking sector has always been reliant on expat expertise, but this has largely been from both Western and Indian sub-continent markets. Now, however, the UAE is hoping to lure more Chinese professionals.

The growing demand for Chinese products and services in the UAE, as well as bilateral trade and tax agreements, has increased the need for bankers servicing UAE-based Chinese nationals. In the past these consumers received limited attention from international, Chinese and local banks, but this is starting to change.

The approximately 6,000 Chinese companies that have registered in

the UAE also need banking services, such as business accounts, cash management, trade finance, treasury and foreign exchange. Private banking is also needed to create wealth management solutions for affluent Chinese residing or trading in the UAE.

Recruiting Chinese bankers has recently grown in importance, says Mark Denniss, partner, East Asia Strategic Partners. “We anticipate this will continue to increase with selected hiring in 2012. The roles in most demand would be relationship managers who manage client relations in areas such as personal banking or SME /corporate banking, and also wealth management,” he adds.

Last year, the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China revealed that it was planning on increasing its high street presence in the UAE in order to tap into the growing number of Chinese professionals – particularly those in engineering or working on infrastructure projects – currently based in the region.

The bank has been in the Middle East since 2008, but benefited from closer ties between the region and China last year, as well as an influx of deposits from Chinese businessmen based in the Gulf. As a result, its profits for its Middle East division doubled in 2011.

Bank of China also entered a joint venture with local institution, Mashreq, in May 2011 in order to offer corporate banking in the UAE.

Chinese customers in the UAE need bankers who speak Chinese, understand Chinese culture, and know their banking needs. Banks also require support staff to provide ongoing documentation, phone banking and internet banking in Chinese.

Chinese candidates are generally becoming more interested in working abroad and many Chinese banks have transferred employees to the UAE.

“The relationship managers will need to speak Mandarin and English, so there is no need for them to speak Arabic. With a population of over 200,000 Chinese living in UAE, the settling-in period would be comparable to expats coming from Europe or other countries from the APAC region,” says Denniss.

Chinese bankers can expect to earn more in the UAE, together with the fact that any income is tax free, but Denniss was unable to provide any specific salary figures for those working in the region.