eFinancialCareers

Will a tumbling dollar spur the GCC countries to come good on their promise of a single currency for 2010 and what will this mean for pay?

The meeting of the Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) this month had traders speculating on a possible de-pegging from the weak dollar, which is spurring high inflation within the GCC region.

However, no clear decision was reached and the GCC meeting’s conclusion was that 2010 was a viable target for any single monetary currency. But guess what? They said the same thing last year and economists and some regional bankers say the timeframe is not feasible.

The fact remains, however, that the majority of expat financial services workers in the region are paid in US dollars, and dollar weakness isn’t exactly a great reason to come and work here.

If, for instance, you’re working in the UK, you could take a 50% pay cut to make the move from dollars to pounds – a blow even a tax-free environment couldn’t cushion.

Russell Adam, managing director, GCC, at Akamai Financial Markets Executive Search (Dubai), says GCC financial services employers are taking remedial action and will often pay more to make up for the dollar slump: “I did a deal recently where someone demanded a 3% rise in their salary because of the devaluation of the dollar. People coming from UK firms often insist on sterling, and Europeans on euros.”

But Michael Ketley, managing director of recruiters MRK, thinks only the top end have such bartering power: “I’ve heard of instances where people are being paid in sterling or euros but most places refuse because everyone else is being paid in dollars.”

If the GCC blows the sceptics out of the water and manages to get its act together by 2010, then the draw of the region may increase. The Gulf Research Center reckons the single currency could be the second most powerful currency after the euro.

The chances aren’t high according to one headhunter, who resolutely refused to go on the record: “If you believe in that, you believe in Santa Claus,” he quipped.