Tag: Investment Management

Credit Suisse is expanding into asset management in Qatar; other firms are likely to follow

Qatar may be, according to some reports, the most promising financial centre in the GCC, but it has long-maintained that its primary aim is to become the region’s main centre for asset management. International firms seem to be finally acknowledging this. Credit Suisse, which has won many large regional investment banking deals through its connection [...]

By Paul Clarke, 9 November 2011 • 0 comments

Who is Izzat Dajani, Citigroup’s new chief executive for Qatar?

While a number of international investment banks appear to be pulling back from the Middle East, Citigroup has unveiled a key hire aimed at building out its business in Qatar. Izzat Dajani, who was previously working at Goldman Sachs in Dubai as head of key and priority clients, has joined Citigroup to lead its Qatar [...]

By Paul Clarke, 12 October 2011 • 0 comments

MIDDLE EAST MOLE: After the summer, expect the winter to be frosty

As many in the Middle East will know, we’re about to enter the final month of work this side of summer, before recruitment grinds to a halt and deal activity hibernates until Ramadan comes to an end. We can reflect on an eventful first half – the ‘Arab Spring’ denting any hopes of a deal [...]

By Jamal Bahir, 13 June 2011 • 0 comments

MIDDLE EAST MOLE: From the ashes emerges a new form of GCC private equity

For all the talk of the turnaround in the Gulf financial market, private equity remains in the doldrums. The almost non-existent fund raises have been extremely disappointing and deal pick up lags way behind recovery in corporate M&A. New PE ventures, months in the planning, are being shelved before they are officially launched. While there [...]

By Jamal Bahir, 23 May 2011 • 0 comments

MIDDLE EAST MOLE: Breaking into the hallowed halls of an international investment bank

You’re convinced of your own prowess; you have a top notch education and a healthy track record of revenue generation, yet you’re still stuck in a (comparatively tiny) regional investment bank. How do you convince the masters of the universe at the big international firms to let you join the party? There are many reasons [...]

By Jamal Bahir, 13 April 2011 • 8 comments

MIDDLE EAST MOLE: Why a four-hour shisha session is no bad thing for you career prospects

By now you’re probably staring at your newly bonus-enhanced bank account, either basking in the warm glow of a chunky payment or silent fuming about the miniscule insult, which your employer has deemed your contribution over the last year to be worth. In our industry, the bonus is the most unambiguous way of your employer [...]

By Jamal Bahir, 29 March 2011 • 2 comments

MIDDLE EAST MOLE: Expat bankers didn’t sign up for this violence

Right now, most financial services professionals around the world are figuring out what to do with their bonuses, but not so in the GCC. Instead, personal safety and career-destroying civil wars, deposed rulers, mobs and violent law-enforcers are the main topic of conversation among Western expats. You saw the headlines: a guy self-immolates in Tunisia, [...]

By Jamal Bahir, 1 March 2011 • 3 comments

MIDDLE EAST MOLE: Got a small bonus? Your boss is trying to tell you something

Bankers in the Middle East have every right to feel slightly aggrieved – if the 2010 bonus payments are anything to go by, your employer thinks you’re worth roughly the same as last year. This isn’t completely clear cut, however. Your individual performance would have impacted your bonus this year (as opposed to be materially [...]

By Jamal Bahir, 10 February 2011 • 2 comments

MIDDLE EAST MOLE: Now is the perfect time to start looking for a new job

Now that you’ve placed the Christmas jumpers back in the wardrobe for another year, it’s time to look at your targets for 2011. No problem, right? You have a great plan in place, solid clients and 12 months to achieve them. Except…over here in the GCC, now we’re well into January, the reality is that [...]

By Jamal Bahir, 25 January 2011 • 0 comments

MIDDLE EAST MOLE: Is it time to fire off all that dry powder?

Buy-side prospects, especially those of the private equity industry, are considered critical harbingers of the future for the financial services industry and several sectors of the wider economy. Understandably, after two years treading water, people in the Gulf are eagerly anticipating what 2011 holds for the industry. Globally, so far it’s been predominantly good news: [...]

By Jamal Bahir, 14 January 2011 • 3 comments