Dubai Investment Banking - High school senior

Hello, I am new to this forum and this is my first post.
I am currently a high school senior and aspiring investment banker living in the middle east and hoping to work in Dubai.
I have a few questions:

1) How is the economy doing in Dubai and is it a good idea to go into IB there in the next 5 years because I heard a lot of BB firms are firing employees there.

2) What are the all-in compensations for the different positions from analyst to MD at BBs there?

3) Are there a lot of applicants for summer internships there and is it hard to land one?

4) How do the working hours / lifestyle compare to NYC's? Do you work as many hours?

Thanks in advance for any answers!

 

DXB's in the shitter. however, you might wanna check out M&I. I believe they did a Q&A with some guy who's in IBD in Dubai. Decent interview; would give you a good perspective. IMHO: tax free moolah, arab sheikhs and balanese dancers may sound great but it doesnt' always quite work out like that.

 

MS just cut its staff there. Met with a senior guy at another bank as well...most of the work is being done out of London. I know a couple of guys who got laid off last year / left to bschool given the lack of work. Offices are very lean. Wouldn't put them at the top of my list unless I had a very good reason to.

 

The top-tier global banks are finding it very difficult to compete with the regional banks here. There is a shift in personel from top-tier to regional - so you would have to be comfortable with having regional bank experience.

"Free Market Capitalism is the best path to Prosperity!" - The Larry Kudlow Creed
 

To be fair, Dubai is an over-hyped gutter but PE firms like Abraaj Capital do take interns from top schools for freshman or sophmore summer. As long as you stop calling yourself an 'aspiring investment banker' and have a UAE visa, you could potentially land an internship this summer at the PWM or Private Client arm of a BB investment bank in Dubai by reaching out to them via phone, email or connections. If anything, just take a stack of 30-40 copies of your resume, head to the DIFC, ask to speak to Mr./ Sheikh [insert fucking long name] who heads investment banking and distribute it to every firm.

 
Macro <span class=keyword_link><a href=/resources/skills/trading-investing/arbitrage target=_blank>Arbitrage</a></span>:
To be fair, Dubai is an over-hyped gutter but PE firms like Abraaj Capital do take interns from top schools for freshman or sophmore summer. As long as you stop calling yourself an 'aspiring investment banker' and have a UAE visa, you could potentially land an internship this summer at the PWM or Private Client arm of a BB investment bank in Dubai by reaching out to them via phone, email or connections. If anything, just take a stack of 30-40 copies of your resume, head to the DIFC, ask to speak to Mr./ Sheikh [insert fucking long name] who heads investment banking and distribute it to every firm.

And you don't even need a visa. Like I mentioned in another thread about Dubai before, lots of people don't have a visa and just exit and reenter Dubai every 30 days (many of the Indian and Bangladeshian workers do it that way) and it isn't illegal or something, it's tolerated. You just drive 2 hours to Oman and back on every fourth Saturday or Sunday and you're fine.

Regarding Dubai, a friend of mine has been at UBS' Dubai office. Pay is comparable, maybe slightly less but at the end of the day you get much more money than your counterparts in Europe or the US due to no real taxation.

Hours are not better than in London or NYC, the UBS guys were sitting until 2 or 3 am all the time and worked both weekend days. In the month of Ramadan, you will work less though. Many of the analysts were British or American and came from top British and American institutions (especially Oxbrige, they seem to love Oxford and Cambridge) and some of them couldn't speak a word of Arabic. This doesn't apply to the senior guys (VP, MD etc., they were all fluent).

 

I don't know how much of that is true. I have tons of friends, Asian, who studied with me in the states and are residents of DXB. They all state that there's a massive tilt towards local graduates who can speak Arabic fluently; mind you these are people who are very well off and have heavy connections but couldn't get into deal-making teams of the big players in the UAE region. Not sure wtf oxbridge students would be doing in A-dub or DXB in the first place. sounds like a bunch of bull IMHO

 
macro:
It's a clownshow over there. Let's just say that technical skills are not as important, things are very much relationship driven. Lifestyle is definitely better. Don't know about comp.

Relationships are the primary drivers of all deals on the sell-side all over the world. One bank isn't winning mandates over another bank because they built a better 'technical model'. Relationships + execution experience matter most and its a positive feed-back loop - more relationships --> more execution experience ---> more relationships etc.

And in both the long run and the short run, building the right relationships w/ a smaller team is much more valuable than being an excel monkey.

 

Dubai´s advantages:

  • Smaller teams
  • More responsabilities if good
  • More salary / free tax
  • Less average working hours. But if you´re are not muslim and a big deal comes up, you will pull allnighters anyway
  • Multicultural experience
  • Nice weather 8 moths out of 12
  • There are so many services that yo do nothing regarding cooking, washing and all this
  • Dubai is nice to travel to Europe or Asia if suddenly you have a weekend off. One of the biggest airports and a lot of amazing c. three hours destinies
  • Key location if interested in Energy or SWF
  • Going to the swimming pool after office
 
oldmansacks:
for people in dubai/qatar...do you guys get 3-4 hours off in the day to go home? I'm positive most firms have this (not sure about banking tho) policy in the middle east because of the heat and long days (and for prayers...but most people go home to fuck around).

Unless you are going to be a construction worker (that too only for the 3 months of July, Aug, Sep), the above does not apply at least in Dubai. Most people take short prayer breaks in a room in the office itself.

At the point about non-muslims having to pull all nighters - in Ramadan, non-muslims surely have to take on more responsibility.

In summary - for anyone early in their career - great lifestyle, good money, but a lack of technical depth. Also, you might see that in some time you begin to realise that you know more than 99% of the clients you are speaking to, so you can bullshit all you want. Its like being a big fish in a small pond

 

Why would you expect the professional services sector to be affected by a religious holiday that only gov't workers and the shareholders of family-owned companies are going to claim?

The truth is you're the weak. And I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm tryin', Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard to be the shepherd.
 

Not sure why you would want to do banking in Dubai... unless you're rolling donuts in the US and UK in terms of trying to break into the industry. Those are generally the people that go to Dubai from NY at an analyst level. The other category is people who are already at a BB or otherwise reputable bank in NY/London, as you can secure a pretty cushy gig over there. People outside of NY just operate at a different pace/intensity.

Just keep in mind in this business it is ALL about relationships... increasingly so as you move up the ladder. The MDs I know, most of their contacts they rely on for business stem from past business realtionships, friends from college, friends from their junior banker days and their social circles. If you spend you junior banker days in Dubai... lets re-visit that source of business contacts:

  1. past business (all of your past business was in the middle east)
  2. friends from college (still intact, although if you're having a hard time breaking into banking in NY, likely you don't come from a school thats well-represented on the street)
  3. friends from junior banker days (your junior banker days were spent in the middle east)
  4. friends from social circles (marginally intact, you've been isolated from your westeren social circles save a stray week or 2 here and there throughout the year)

So bottom line,

1- if you're hoping to spend 2-5 years in Dubai and come back... you can do it, but you'll come back handicapped in terms of making the jump from being a junior banker to a senior banker.

2- if you're leaving an establihsed bank in the west to go to the middle east, you'll run into similar challenges but you'll likely be much better compensated/received and will have access to tier 1 opportunities

3- these arguments don't stand for middle eastern SWF as these are primo gigs... i.e. I'd much rather be at Kingdom Holdings, Mubadala or ADIA than GS

4- solid international experience is like fishing with dynamite in terms of applying to top business schools

 

what f you just had a legit interest in working in emerging markets and/or oil/gas. they do some pretty cool shit over there. Clients over there are a lot more clueless than the west so deals are a lot less structured (more learning).

I have a legit interest working there. But I also want to have a backup plan in things don't pan out after my 1st 2 years there. My plan is to go to a SWF after a couple years at a reputable IB shop....but wanted to have a backup plan... Would I make a good candidate for a energy/power or emerging markets PE/VC firm in the US after a couple years in the MENA region?

 

Can anyone comment on banking in Saudi Arabia? Was reading the M&I article on it and it sounds interesting, perhaps even more so than Dubai.

Say you do 2/3 years as an analyst in NYC and then go to the Middle East as an associate. Is it possible to then go back to NYC as a VP or are you pretty much stuck in the region once you go there? Also, in terms of opportunities to move to the Middle East after doing an analyst stint, would Houston be roughly equivalent to NYC due to the Oil & Gas connection?

 

Saudi ! Wow ! Unless you are Muslim, it is a bit difficult to adjust culturally there. If anything the work hours are even better there. Less professional (relatively speaking) than Dubai. Plus no women anywhere. Plus no drinking. Yeah in the "compounds" the life is better - but again that is again relatively speaking.

The money might be better than Dubai, but there is a reason why people would be paid more to stay there. A lot of bankers stay in Dubai and cover Saudi - but these days more and more bankers are being asked to be based there anticipating an increase in the deal flow

 

ive always considered making the transition to the MENA region. Without contacts or knowledge of how other people land out there, it seems like a daunting task.

My background is in valuation advisory (big4 for a year / small regional firm for the past 6 mo), though I would be looking to make the move to a banking job. Since I fall into the category of someone who wants to head out there for 2 - 5 years, I'd only go with an institution with some name recognition back in the US. (I'm also muslim, not sure whether or not that's relevant)

I'd appreciate any advice / push in the right direction. Are there other websites like bayt.com that cater more to the finance / banking community that I should be applying to jobs on? How should I go about networking to make this happen? Are there legit sourcing professionals for bb banks that I should seek out? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

thanks

 

I've been to dubai a few times. The thing is if you want to go do investment banking somewhere with low taxes there are other places (Moscow for example is 13% flat rate and a way better social life) which also allow you to have a life. The weather is way too hot, you have a permanent cold from switching between 10c inside (since they always overdo the a/c) and 45c on the street. There aren't many chicks, particularly if you are in your early to mid 20s and looking for ones in the age range 18-25. Yes I'm not including the tourists who populate night clubs or the foreign prostitutes. There's no culture to experience. Yes there are places in the middle east with a lot of local culture, for example Oman, but Dubai is not one of them.

 

Most of the younger women in Dubai fall into 2 categories:

1- grls vacationing with their loaded bf/fiance/husband 2- prostitutes

If you go to a club there, literally 90% of the grls in the club will be prostitutes. Only way around this is to go to the super-expensive clubs, in which case its about 40% $1k hookers and 60% the above mentioned category 1 grls.

Oconnor:
I've been to dubai a few times. The thing is if you want to go do investment banking somewhere with low taxes there are other places (Moscow for example is 13% flat rate and a way better social life) which also allow you to have a life. The weather is way too hot, you have a permanent cold from switching between 10c inside (since they always overdo the a/c) and 45c on the street. There aren't many chicks, particularly if you are in your early to mid 20s and looking for ones in the age range 18-25. Yes I'm not including the tourists who populate night clubs or the foreign prostitutes. There's no culture to experience. Yes there are places in the middle east with a lot of local culture, for example Oman, but Dubai is not one of them.
 

This is what happens on bonus day

jk

Disclaimer for the Kids: Any forward-looking statements are solely for informational purposes and cannot be taken as investment advice. Consult your moms before deciding where to invest.
 

Although, I cannot answer all your questions, you should be fine, as Dubai is a city that attracts a lot of tourists due to the reasons you mentioned (i.e. no* taxes & the salaries). Yes, it is a Muslim culture; however, like I said, due to the amount of tourists the city attracts, there are also several non-muslims. The city is more modern, than say...traditional Muslim countries such as Egypt, Saudi Arabia, etc. where, yes, you may get stared at.

One of the main points to emphasize is to be culturally aware (seems like you are) and be accepting of the culture, from my experience traveling there Emiratees are very nice people.

Oh and to find out more about the nightlife among other tidbits, check out http://www.timeoutdubai.com/

Enjoy your time and good luck!

OE
 
GD:
I've heard people can easily make bank in Dubai. True or false?

Yes, they do pay more. That is usually because they desire graduates from universities in the US or some in Europe, which are higher ranked than those in the middle east region. Hence employers pay higher than average. Oh and no taxes, probably helps as well...

OE
 
Best Response

I watched women iceskating in the Dubai Mall being completely covered in their black burqa, it's just ridiculous imho. I have seen women having some sort of metal over their mouth so they can't speak while they are in public. I also have seen how those guys treat their women. Just stick to the non-muslims in terms of dating. (No offense to the muslims on WSO)

I also don't like how the Arabs there look down on all the Indian and Bangladeshian people who keep the whole city going. Some of them treat them like shit or a dog, that just made me mad.

Also, make sure not to be drunk in public. You usually get out of the clubs, bars, etc. and immediately get inside the car/cab. Otherwise you might get some problems. In terms of partying, going out and having a good time I would recommend places like Barasti Beach Club or the likes. You can find plenty of cool expats there and for the guys that come to Dubai, the chicks at Barasti's are just excellent.

Since you are an (in your eyes) attractive woman, you should be careful with what you are wearing, on of our girls wasn't allowed to enter a restaurant and it made the guys there really mad, it was just ridiculous. Furthermore, there are some places (hookah lounges f.e.) you cannot enter.

However, you can still have a great time there, just think about what you are doing and wearing and like others mentioned, the city is a lot more modern compared to other parts of the muslim world.

One more point, it can be hard to make long lasting friendships, just because many people come there fore some months or so and than leave back home. It's a come and go in Dubai.

All in all, I think Dubai is a damn nice place to see and to stay for some time, but I would never consider living there for more than the Analyst stint..

But yeah, that is just my opinion!

BTW: In the last thread about Dubai on WSO someone asked some questions about the Visa: It is possible to go there without a Visa and just leave the country every 30-35 days (just drive to the border to Oman, leave Dubai, enter Oman, immediately get back to Dubai) and you're allowed to stay another 30-35 days. Works fine and many of the Indian/Bangladeshian workers do it all the time :D

 
above_and_beyond:
I watched women iceskating in the Dubai Mall being completely covered in their black burqa, it's just ridiculous imho. I have seen women having some sort of metal over their mouth so they can't speak while they are in public. I also have seen how those guys treat their women. Just stick to the non-muslims in terms of dating. (No offense to the muslims on WSO)

I also don't like how the Arabs there look down on all the Indian and Bangladeshian people who keep the whole city going. Some of them treat them like shit or a dog, that just made me mad.

Also, make sure not to be drunk in public. You usually get out of the clubs, bars, etc. and immediately get inside the car/cab. Otherwise you might get some problems. In terms of partying, going out and having a good time I would recommend places like Barasti Beach Club or the likes. You can find plenty of cool expats there and for the guys that come to Dubai, the chicks at Barasti's are just excellent.

Since you are an (in your eyes) attractive woman, you should be careful with what you are wearing, on of our girls wasn't allowed to enter a restaurant and it made the guys there really mad, it was just ridiculous. Furthermore, there are some places (hookah lounges f.e.) you cannot enter.

However, you can still have a great time there, just think about what you are doing and wearing and like others mentioned, the city is a lot more modern compared to other parts of the muslim world.

One more point, it can be hard to make long lasting friendships, just because many people come there fore some months or so and than leave back home. It's a come and go in Dubai.

All in all, I think Dubai is a damn nice place to see and to stay for some time, but I would never consider living there for more than the Analyst stint..

But yeah, that is just my opinion!

BTW: In the last thread about Dubai on WSO someone asked some questions about the Visa: It is possible to go there without a Visa and just leave the country every 30-35 days (just drive to the border to Oman, leave Dubai, enter Oman, immediately get back to Dubai) and you're allowed to stay another 30-35 days. Works fine and many of the Indian/Bangladeshian workers do it all the time :D

Oh cmon, I routinely see women dressed in more provocative ways in Dubai than even would be considered decent in the US. Dubai is about as far from an islamic state as you can get in the middle east.

That said, I would stay away. The economy is really suffering now. Investments are decreasing and that is the only thing Dubai had going for it. The fact that the Burj Khalifa is pretty much vacant speaks volumes about the economic growth there.

 

Dubai is great. Obviously being part of a muslim country, it upholds the Shari'a Law, but its much more lax than say Abu Dhabi which is 45 minutes away.

Dubai is like going to the future almost (as least many of its parts, DT/burk Khalifa area, Jumeriah, Dubai Marina) and the amount of activities you engage in there are almost limitless(you can ski there for 60 USD for christ sake).

As for partying, it is very hypocritical. Dubai marina/Jumeriah is known for ex-pat hangouts, and are more strict in the sense of who can drink. Go to the more higher end bars (I went to at.mosphere lounge, highest bar in the world, $25 tequila shots) and you will find emirati heiresess dressed in western clothing and taking jagger shots.

The money is good but it is also very expensive. I stayed with upper management ex-pats, and they love their life there, but they also say it is hard to save.

 

French for Dubai?? Haha, no, definitley not. Arabic yes, would be very helpful. Most business is conducted in English, but of course they prefer hiring Arabic speakers. eecs is right in that most hiring in Dubai is for experienced hires. That's not to say that they don't hire any entry level people, but the thing about Dubai is that a lot happens through connections. They are also wanting to hire more of their own people, so it is tougher to get entry level jobs as an expat. If you haven't lived in Dubai and don't have other connections, it will be quite difficult. Don't know much about India.

 

This is courteousy of kingkaiser, it could give you an accurate idea of Dubai:

"Dubai...I'm working over here, and was born and (partially) raised here...

Downsides:

  1. Racism. The hierarchy = pakistani IBD, all-nighters are rare. I pulled only one every week and turned into a legend at my firm (which is a well respected firm). The other analysts in my batch pulled only one (average of 0.7 actually) in the previous financial year.

All the above notwithstanding, this place really gets to you after a while. The utter lack of soul, lack of respect for other people (depending upon their financial clout & race), disregard for human lives, etc just makes you want to leave (odd coming from a banker, i know)...which is why I'm planning an exit in a few years...

btw: Dubai Holdings has godawful bonuses. I'd suggest you find out more about that before turning down names like Goldman."

 

This is courteousy of kingkaiser, it could give you an accurate idea of Dubai:

"Dubai...I'm working over here, and was born and (partially) raised here...

Downsides:

  1. Racism. The hierarchy = pakistani IBD, all-nighters are rare. I pulled only one every week and turned into a legend at my firm (which is a well respected firm). The other analysts in my batch pulled only one (average of 0.7 actually) in the previous financial year.

All the above notwithstanding, this place really gets to you after a while. The utter lack of soul, lack of respect for other people (depending upon their financial clout & race), disregard for human lives, etc just makes you want to leave (odd coming from a banker, i know)...which is why I'm planning an exit in a few years...

btw: Dubai Holdings has godawful bonuses. I'd suggest you find out more about that before turning down names like Goldman."

 

When you say 20 years late, what exactly are you referring to? As far as getting a job there? The Development of infrastructure , education, decline of tourism in recent years, or poor decisions on their part to establish a solid economy aside from the oil? I mean "lil down" is understandable, but like I said I was there this past December, and saw no signs of fortitude which will bring the cranes to move , and the physical laborers going back to work again. I'm not sitting here trying to bash all over Dubai, but I was just wondering what you meant by being a "lil down".

Thanks

 

well there was that small issue of defaulting on its sovereign debt and getting bailed out by abu dhabi. Other than that I'd say things are looking strong. I also hear that real estate in Phoenix, Las Vegas, and Orange County is pretty bullet proof.

You're not 20 years late, maybe closer to 10.

I'll assume you are a youngster given that + the Yale mba comment (yale mba is more like top 15-20, hbs is more like top one). Do a little googling and you'll see why Dubai is akin to the miami condo market.

 

Slaves, yes I would have to agree as a more appropriate title. obviously, I didn't want to come off as an asshole, but yeah I do agree. But aside from that it seems that obtaining an MBA from Yale doesn't really mean much. Even though it was never a goal of mine, it is good to have some sort of reference in mind of what types of candidates I am competing against as far as obtaining any kind of jobs within this field.

 

Dubai is an unholy piece of shit towel-head monarchy, I hope it rots.

For starters, they don't pay the labor they import from Pakistan. So, yes, the emirati royalty employ slave laborers.

All their resort style condos and hotel are sitting empty.

Their buildings are too costly too maintain because sand keeps eating them. And they take up too much energy because they need to run HVAC all year round.

The office buildings are empty because they don't have an economy.

They dump raw sewage into the ocean.

If you go bankrupt in Dubai, you go straight to jail. Basically, its "debtor's prison". Their are no bankruptcy laws.

I could go on and on. Basically, just stay away from Dubai.

--- man made the money, money never made the man
 
mr1234:
Dubai is an unholy piece of shit towel-head monarchy, I hope it rots.

For starters, they don't pay the labor they import from Pakistan. So, yes, the emirati royalty employ slave laborers.

All their resort style condos and hotel are sitting empty.

Their buildings are too costly too maintain because sand keeps eating them. And they take up too much energy because they need to run HVAC all year round.

The office buildings are empty because they don't have an economy.

They dump raw sewage into the ocean.

If you go bankrupt in Dubai, you go straight to jail. Basically, its "debtor's prison". Their are no bankruptcy laws.

I could go on and on. Basically, just stay away from Dubai.

Spot on. That place has been exposed.

 

Dubai's fine for bankers; there's Americans, Brits, Aussies here. Expat packages are generous and tax-free, and all the bulge brackets have a strong presence here as the hub to the rest of the Middle East. Even Carlyle, KKR and Blackstone have offices. Good place to work for a while and save some money.

All the classy 'towel-head' comments should really lead to a temporary ban too.

 
Genesis:
Dubai's fine for bankers; there's Americans, Brits, Aussies here. Expat packages are generous and tax-free, and all the bulge brackets have a strong presence here as the hub to the rest of the Middle East. Even Carlyle, KKR and Blackstone have offices. Good place to work for a while and save some money.

All the classy 'towel-head' comments should really lead to a temporary ban too.

Let me get this straight: you're extolling a country that has no economy (outside of tourism, retail, money laundering and prostitution; Dubai isnt an oil rich economy), that employs slave labor, is a human rights atrocity, and is governed by an shit-show constitutional monarchy.

If you knew my religion and ethnicity, you would understand that I can get away with calling Dubai a towel-head monarchy.

--- man made the money, money never made the man
 
Cartwright:
Ok I'm pretty sure genesis wrote that in 2005 and somehow it popped up in the present day. Dubai was a sovereign analogy of the credit boom, and bust. If you just want to move to the UAE, then by all means catch the next BA flight out, but the boom times are gone. It was Traders Monthly- the government issue. Shit is over.

Work has certainly slowed down considerably and getting on deals is very competitive, but the fact is that most of the Middle East deals are still run by the banks out of Dubai. Dubai's economy has crawled to a halt and the only work in the city is restructuring/asset sales, but none of that is true for Qatar, Abu Dhabi and the KSA, where the SWFs are constantly doing deals.

I wish people here stopped regurgitating stuff they've heard third-hand and actually did some research for themselves.

 

I'm vaguely Muslim too. There's certainly some exploitation of foreign workers here on a large scale, but I find it hilarious that a bunch of money-hungry prestige-whore college-age investment bankers can get all holier-than-thou about it.

Seeing as I suspect I'm the only one actually in banking in Dubai, I think I'm far more qualified to extol the city's virtues than some bigoted twat who read an article in the Independent and thinks he's the torchbearer for the poor and the downtrodden. Everyone's aware of Dubai's flaws, but nothing that I posted isn't true. You'll earn a lot of money at the international banks, your bonuses are subject to fewer restrictions, you pay nothing in taxes and your accommodation is paid for (and roughly 3x better than what you'd get for equivalent money in NYC or London given recent rent drops). You can party here just like anyplace else and the government's easily the most liberal in the region. There's a reason 90% of the DIFC population is expats.

 
Genesis:
There's certainly some exploitation of foreign workers here on a large scale, but I find it hilarious that a bunch of money-hungry prestige-whore college-age investment bankers can get all holier-than-thou about it.

No, your line of thinking is hilarious. All other arguments/issues aside, how is it "holier-than-thou" to call slavery by its' name? And how does my profession disqualify me from stating a fact? I'm not saying that working in M&A is altruistic, but it isn't immoral or unethical, either.

 

Living in Dubai I can actually agree with most of what Genesis said. It is not as bad as what the media portrays it to be, esp. if you are a banker using Dubai just as a home base to cover most of the region. Make no mistake - i do not like Dubai and there are quite a few reasons for it. However, most (if not all) the people are here not because they like Dubai but because you do make a lot of money vis-a-vis what you would have at the same level back home (true for most nationalities).

In terms of actual experience, the working culture is not organised/structured. So you end up doing a number of things which are unplanned, and also the sophistication of the deals is not that great. Earlier Dubai used to be just a client coverage base, but now it seems more and more banks are building some sort of execution capability here.

And just FYI, SHUAA Capital is NOT the only sizable i-bank here. Most of the BBs, European banks, Asian banks, and regional banks have a presence here

 

Hey, I'd be in London if I could. I'm well aware of Dubai's problems. But seeing as I just came back from the all-day expat boozefest that is the Rugby Sevens over the weekend, hearing this same old tired 'towelhead' tripe about how close-minded the monarchy is was just chuckleworthy.

Banks still fly down London industry group and M&A guys to execute deals; the quality of junior bankers on the ground is MUCH lower than in London. But yes, you'll still be busy with coverage.

I'm at one of the large regionals, and we don't have London guys to fly in, so there's a lot more execution. Pay's a bit lower though.

 
Genesis:
Hey, I'd be in London if I could. I'm well aware of Dubai's problems. But seeing as I just came back from the all-day expat boozefest that is the Rugby Sevens over the weekend, hearing this same old tired 'towelhead' tripe about how close-minded the monarchy is was just chuckleworthy.

Banks still fly down London industry group and M&A guys to execute deals; the quality of junior bankers on the ground is MUCH lower than in London. But yes, you'll still be busy with coverage.

I'm at one of the large regionals, and we don't have London guys to fly in, so there's a lot more execution. Pay's a bit lower though.

Honest post. I ll give you that. If you cant get a job in a real hub and have no choice I guess Dubai is ok for banking experience but keep in mind the labour/freedom issues.

 

So you are extolling Dubai. Of course, it makes sense from an expat's POV that Dubai is a great place to do business, but that doesn't make it any less of a shit-hole. In fact, that's exactly why Dubai is a shit-hole: because of apathetic expats like yourself and the corrupt emerati who are willing to exploit labor for your convenience. That's EXACTLY what Dubai is: expat Disneyland built on the sweat and labor of unpaid foreign workers. It takes a special kind of ignorance to be OK with that. If that's the country you want to build your career in, then prepare to be disappointed.

And you're vaguely Muslim? THAT's chuckle-worthy. I don't know what the shit that's suppose to mean, but I don't really care, either.

--- man made the money, money never made the man
 

Sometimes this forum is just idiocy personified.

You want to know the truth? It doesn't bother me or most of the bankers here that this city runs on cheap labour. As if the States or London are bastions of income equality. My point in this whole thing was that it's a good city to be a banker in, which is very much to the original poster's point too. Your reply had nothing to do with anything in this post besides throwing around racial slurs, calling a city a shithole and saying absolutely nothing about the banking industry in the city itself, because you clearly don't know shit.

Done with this stupid argument, hope that helped maserati.

 

[quote=kinghongkong]

There are two blog posts on WSO by, I think, Zaza. She talks about all of your questions!

[/quotThanks I checked the post and some of my questions have been answered but I wanted answers about the actual situation in Dubai since I heard that the finance scene has changed a lot this year

 
PaulHdd:
kinghongkong:

There are two blog posts on WSO by, I think, Zaza. She talks about all of your questions!

Thanks I checked the post and some of my questions have been answered but I wanted answers about the actual situation in Dubai since I heard that the finance scene has changed a lot this year

Sorry, can't help you with that. Maybe someone else can't (but I doubt it). I am not even sure if someone is currently active on WSO and has expertise in this part of the world.

Where is your curiosity coming from?

 

Interested to know if there are entry-level opportunities in IB or PB or Consulting. From what I've heard, many expats in Dubai don't have any Arabic proficiency (or knowledge of any foreign language for that matter); am I mistaken, and if so, how necessary is knowledge of Arabic and/or other foreign languages?

 

any one getting a chance to go and work in Dubai should! I just came back from there a few weeks ago. The economy is flourishing like there is no tomorrow. Dubai is the fastest growing city in the world.

My friend who works for a BB (IBD) there is working on huge deals because the government in privatizing a lot of its industries, and just to let you have an idea, some of these companies have net worths in excess of $500bn.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abu_Dhabi_Investment_Authority

Food, cars, apartments, all cheaper than NY/London/HK, far better and less congested streets.

You can easily have a good full dinner for $10, and pay only about $1700/mo for a 30th floor 2006-built sky scraper overlooking the white sands and blue beaches.

Tons of hot chicks there (European/Middleastern/Pakistani/Arab), and its warm all year around except for January, so you (read chicks) dont need a lot of clothes, if you know what I mean.

Also, there are NO INCOME TAXES and (maybe also no sales tax). So, you pocket each and every dollar or Dirham you make.

Nice, friendly people. 2/3rds of the country is full of foreigners. I am planning to move there in a few years.

By the way - I am not from the UAE.

 

Don't you think there are also risks involved?

-Arabs have a totally different culture compared to US or EU or Asia

-Dubai has just started to develop as a financial centre in the Mid-East which bears many risks, in the case something goes wrong your reputation will be damaged, even if you cannot be blamed..

-Banks need more transition time to bring their operations to full power , let's say about 3-5 years from now before you have all the facilities in Dubai as you have in US/EU/Asia?

 

The risks involved in Arabia are irrelevant compared with the opportunities... the fact that the infrastructure isn't well set up just creates more chances to make an impact

 

I've been there too, and it's an AWESOME place. I'm pretty sure there are income taxes though..but the taxes are like 15%, not the 50% you'll pay as a banker in the US.

Rent is cheaper than NYC, and the people are great. The women are amazing - lots of hot Arab/Pakistani/Middle Eastern chicks. It still has some remnants of conservative Arab culture (for example, all of the bars have to be attached to hotels - as alcohol is forbidden in Islam so there aren't a bunch of bars everywhere), but overall it's a pretty Westernized place. Most of the population is expat, and there are a good amount of Westerners (I'm American, by the way).

If I could live there, I certainly would. Does anyone know what banks currently have offices there, and if they take banking analysts/associates? I'm signed up for 2 years in NYC starting this summer, but who knows after that. Also, is knowledge of Arabic necessary to work there? From what I could see, English was spoken pretty much everywhere. But it could be a situation like Hong Kong - I know the banks only require you to know English to work there, but I've heard if you don't know Mandarin it will be hard to advance up the ladder as deals are often made over dinner or the golf course and people speak their native language there.

 

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Metals & Mining I-Banker
 

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i am a seo expert currently i'm selling Off plan properties in dubai
 

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