eFinancialCareers

Hedge fund inflows have been tipped to increase fivefold in the Middle East, and firms are scrabbling to ship Western expertise out to the region as well as find talent on the ground. Gilles Rollet, chief executive officer of fund manager Mirabaud (Middle East), thinks the hot air surrounding hedge funds in the region will turn into substance, and there will be five times as much investment in regionally based funds... Read more

Despite a candidate-driven market, it seems local banks in the Middle East have not been pushing the dhow out far enough to attract staff. A senior local recruiter in Dubai says that as a result they are losing staff to the international banks as compensation becomes more focused on bonuses. Some of the newer regional players are throwing big numbers to retain or attract talent, “but you have to if you... Read more

Local GCC banks don't pay as well as international rivals, but that may be changing. Russell Adam, a consultant at London-based search firm Akamai Financial Markets, tells us, "If you're on an expat package, it can definitely be beneficial to work for an international bank. However, your career may progress more rapidly at a fast-growing local house." Gareth Clayton, a director at search firm Charterhouse Partnership in Dubai, says local banks are... Read more

Burj-al-Arab, Dubai's iconic hotel, designed to resemble a billowing sail, could also symbolise the Gulf property market running ahead of a fair wind. Developments such as The Palm, for example, so loved by footballers' wives, have grabbed the headlines and oil approaching US$70 a barrel is fuelling a wave of infrastructure investment that's predicted to hit US$1.3 trillion between 2007 and 2012. But recruiters are making heavy weather of finding the... Read more

Saudi Arabia's banking sector was already hot. It's now in danger of overheating. Yassar Toukan, general manager of Saudi recruitment firm Brainlease, says relationship managers are in the highest demand at both commercial and private banks. Relationship managers act as a liaison between the bank and the client and sell the client on bank services. "Commercial banks are looking to lure and retain large corporate clients; private banks are focusing on high... Read more

The landmark US$3.8bn DP World flotation could see the IPO floodgates open in Dubai, and that could generate increased demand for ECM professionals in the region. Earlier in 2007, Ernst & Young predicted US$18.3bn of IPOs in Dubai this year, but we’re a long way off that right now. Until the DP deal, there were just five ECM deals on the Dubai International Stock Exchange (DIFX) this year, representing a meagre... Read more

Dubai could soon be hit by a wave of hedge fund managers fleeing the UK. Proposals for increasing the amount of tax that wealthy non-domicile residents pay in the UK are threatening London’s position as the financial centre top spot. If it goes ahead, hedge fund managers could be on the first plane out of there. Dubai is tipped to benefit. A staggering 84% of respondents to a survey of... Read more

Losing your job is never nice, but in Dubai it’s a particularly horrible experience – especially if you’re an expat. The root of the horror is that both residency and the right to work for expats working in Dubai’s finance industry are dependent on sponsorship by the employer. If you’re laid off, this goes up in smoke and you have 30 days to leave the country, unless a new employer... Read more

As the dollar falls, so does the allure of taking a job in the Middle East. Last week, the US dollar dropped to an all-time low against the euro and three-month lows against the yen and sterling. With the US Federal Reserve expected to carry on cutting interest rates and the US economy suffering particularly painfully from the sub-prime crisis, the dollar's demise is expected to continue. What's good for transatlantic shoppers... Read more

The dollar might have hit new lows last month, but that’s not stopping Gulf employers hiring new staff from Europe. Companies need specific skills and if they have to pay more for them, that’s what they’ll do, recruiters say. The mighty dollar’s drop against the euro and sterling has left employers in the Gulf – where currencies are dollar-linked and pay agreed in dollar sums – forking out more to offer... Read more

How long are you planning to stay in your job? Dubai recruiters say staff with itchy feet are a real and growing problem. “A few professionals are now investing in short term staff due to the high turnover,” says one local mortgage broker. “In the last year alone, at least five of my colleagues have left.” Investment banks appear to be suffering a similar problem. Lehman Brothers chief Richard Fuld says 20%... Read more

Dubai is doing its best to encourage banks to hire more nationals. It won't reduce demand for overseas talent, say recruiters. The Human Resources Development Committee for the financial sector says the programme, known as 'emiratisation', is intended to drive more than 200k United Arab Emirates (UAE) nationals into employment – with many of them going into the financial sector. The aim? To ensure half of roles are filled by local employees... Read more

Wall Street bankers are now paid on a par with colleagues in Asia, Dubai bankers saw the biggest pay increases in the last bonus round, and London’s bankers clearly came out on top. Top bankers in the UK received compensation increases ranging from 17% to 22%, according to the latest survey from financial services search firm Napier Scott. In the US, the average figure was 10% to 15%. By comparison, bankers... Read more

Living in Dubai isn't quite as cost effective as it used to be, but it's still a lot cheaper than, say, London. The good news is that Gulf incomes are tax-free and an array of perks typically makes life that little bit easier to bear. The bad news is that perks aren't being doled out as liberally as they once were. The bill for schooling the children of the region's army of... Read more

Demand for asset management professionals in Bahrain looks set to rise following changes to its collective investment scheme regulatory framework. The changes will allow a wider range of assets to be included in funds and are expected to see the emergence of a Bahrain-based industry for hedge funds and other alternative investments, according to Bahrain Financial Services Development. Bahrain already has 102 locally-domiciled funds and more than 2,600 registered with the... Read more