If you want to work in Bahrain, it's worth keeping an eye out for the new venture from Talal al-Zain, the former head of Bahrain's sovereign wealth fund, Mumtalakat.

US-educated al-Zain quit last week (allegedly over the lack of deal activity at Mumtalakat) and, according to Zawya, is setting up his own financial services company, which will become a joint venture with a global investment house.

"I see lots of opportunities for investment in the Middle East and north Africa, with strong interest from Asia in our region, we want to be a contact point for that," Zain said. He also said he wants to stay in Bahrain.

It's not clear what Zain's new firm will be called - or when it will emerge, but it seems likely that he'll need to hire senior investment professionals and analysts to support them.