GF
Sector: Insurance
GUEST COMMENT: I’ve served my time in the Middle East; take me back Asia
The financial world is ablaze again at the moment – market turmoil, downgrading, interest rates. Chaotic for all in working the industry. But haven’t there been enough market dips in the last three years? I was living and working in Asia in 2008 at the time of the most recent major crash. Life was good. [...]
Have expat bankers in Bahrain finally decided that it’s better to stay?
Despite protestations to the contrary, international financial services firms have started shifting their Middle East HQs from Bahrain to Dubai. First it was asset manager Robeco, which is moving just 12 staff to the DIFC by year-end, and now French bank Crédit Agricole is relocating its 60 or so employees from Bahrain to Dubai. This [...]
Who hired in the Middle East in June?
If new operations and senior or strategic hires are anything to go by, there were many reasons to feel optimistic in June. Investment banking, wealth management, and insurance were all more active than at most points during this year. Al Bashayer Investment Company, a wealth management firm targeted at women, has kick-started its UAE operations. [...]
A vicious career circle of banking, oil and interviews
I have been employed in the upstream oil and gas (O&G) sector for nearly five years, specialising in corporate finance, project financing, economics and screening of M&A opportunities. For my first two years, I worked as a buy-side O&G analyst and then moved to general commercial and corporate development work. Most O&G companies offer excellent [...]
Is Bahrain’s financial sector really growing?
The fact that Bahrain ended 2009 with more financial services jobs than it started with has been heralded as a triumph in the face of the global financial crisis. However, the raw statistics may not be truly representative of the situation in the kingdom currently. Figures from the Central Bank of Bahrain show that there [...]
Forget investment banking, Qatar takes aim at asset management and insurance
The gleaming tower of the Qatar Financial Centre never quite rivalled the DIFC as a bustling metropolis for investment bankers and now it’s given up the ghost to try and carve a niche for itself within asset management, captive insurance and reinsurance. The move, announced yesterday, is a “new strategic phase” and by focusing on [...]
Qatar desperate for insurance talent
With Dubai stubbornly holding on to the title of Middle East financial hub, Qatar has set its sights on another industry – insurance. There’s just one problem with its plans for rapid expansion in this area – attracting talent to the country. The Qatar Financial Centre Authority has outlined its plans to become a regional [...]
Big local players make new Emiratisation push
Western bankers might be queuing up to enter the UAE, but it seems the focus of many of the region’s largest financial players is very much on developing a pipeline of local talent. The thorny issue of Emiratisation has never been higher on the agenda, at a time when financial institutions have the option of [...]
Will Islamic finance emerge unscathed?
The financial crisis may have dared to stick its ugly head above the parapet in the GCC, but one area seemingly sheltered from the machinations of the global markets is the Islamic finance space where firms remain as hungry for talent as ever. The consensus among experts is that the sector is due to grow [...]
UK doesn’t want Gulf’s Islamic talent
If you’re an Islamic finance professional based in the Middle East and are hoping to penetrate the UK market, the message is clear – don’t bother. The Middle East might be a more mature market in this space currently, but London is intent on developing its own talent. Gatehouse Bank, a recently-established UK-based Islamic finance [...]
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GUEST COMMENT: This is what you’ll need for the perfect private equity CV
