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Middle East – hardship posting or career kickstart?
19 February 2008
With the bloodbath in western markets, many bankers are being redeployed to the Gulf. Should they be holding their heads or grasping the nettle?
As all about them lose their head(counts) in the West, the Middle East seems a relative oasis of calm, bolstering its capital markets capabilities, rolling in wealth and bullishly expanding M&A activity.
And international banks seem to be scrambling to expand, particularly as they look eastwards to cushion the blows of the credit crisis. According to Financial News, investment banks are looking to ship bankers from Wall Street to the Dubai International Financial Centre.
As one banker joked: “It’s Mumbai, Dubai, Shanghai or goodbye.”
But whereas the prospect of going to the Gulf might have been the global equivalent of being sent to Coventry a few years ago, some might argue it’s now a real opportunity.
Banks and headhunters tell us of the relative ease of ascending the greasy career pole in the region, and there’s a lot of action to be had – with an estimated $2bn in debt and equity capital markets and advisory fees available to be captured this year.
But is the region really as buoyant as it seems? Does the exciting prospect of rolling out new projects merely mask the relative immaturity of the market? If you were a banker working in the US or the UK would you rather be out on you ear or begrudgingly take a Middle Eastern posting?
Your thoughts please….
Dubai is far more exciting from the personal perspective than the professional for sure. But the improvement in the personal quality of life is so huge compared to the miserable lives of London or NYC bankers that is worthy the change. Dubai is about lifestyle, huge houses, fancy cars, housemaids, drivers, beach clubs, nightlife, beautiful women and shopping. Work doesn't offer you 10% of this excitment be assured but if you are one of the luck ones in Ldondon or NYC getting an annual paycheck of USD 1mm before taxes, most probably you are living squeezed in a 2 beds flat, commuting 1hr at least in a horrendous tube and spending your holidays in a ridiculous place like Hamptons, Cornwall or Vermont. While in Dubai with a quarter of that salary you will have a quasi-oligarch lifestyle, summer in the Maldives and winter in Verbier/ Courchevel. It's not much of a choice unless you are an idealist in your 20's dreaming to become the next Soros/ Buffet, otherwise, prepare your luggage and Dubai for you.
trader 28 Oct 2008
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