Saudi Arabia IBD information--Riyadh, etc.?

also interested.

guess they should have shit loads of $ to pay

Not sure about boutiques, but I have a bit of experience interviewing in the Middle East and here are a few points, albeit entirely anecdotal:

• Most places look for summer analysts, rarely hire FT analysts. You typically start as an associate
• For instance, I know a summer from Dubai that ended up at MS London for full time
• PE is practically non-existent. They're looking for lifers and exit opps are rarely discussed
• As expected, deal teams are tiny as per deal flow
• Don't expect a 9-5 just because they have less deal flow. You still grind it out through weekends, all nighters, etc.
• In my personal opinion, I think networking at BB's has a lot less of an impact. Recruiting is handled in London and that's where all the HR staff are
• Summer programs start around June

That being said, why you'd want to work/live in Saudi Arabia is beyond me.

I just did a few updates in the WSO Company Database, so a few more Saudi firms will be there if you checked already

I started the MENA region monkeys group, so we can gather all the information in one place.

http://www.wallstreetoasis.com/group/mena-region-monkeys

Yeah, mostly BB's, Mizuho, and Rasmala. I guess it makes sense that the IBD in Saudi isn't as ridiculous as let's say NYC. I'll give Rasmala a shot but otherwise I better look elsewhere for now. Thanks though.

I joined the PE team of one of the biggest banks in the middle east based in Saudi (Riyadh) as an analyst straight out of undergrad (i had to go through a banking training program) around a month ago. We'r a small team (around 4). Work Sat-wed, 8:30am to 5pm. Biggest PE firm in saudi is Amwal alkhaleej and Although PE is pretty new around here i believe it has good potential, theres plenty of cash around.

Most business is conducted in english. Pretty much majority of the banks here have investments arms, biggest local banks are: Samba financial group, NCB, SABB, Al Rajhi Bank. There's also other international banks such as Standard charter, deutsche bank, JPmorgan, morgan stanley.

for more about PE in Saudi, google "Fadi Arbid, CEO of Amwal AlKhaleej interview at wharton"

you might want to check this out too: http://jobs.efinancialcareers.com/job-4000000000979043.htm

oh yeah there's also Shuaa capital, Barclays Capital, Credit Suisse and swiscorp.

@Abdel Being American or Europpean will most of the time give you an advantage. U'll get higher salaries as well. I cant really comment on compensation as i'm out of a banking program that pays me and the guy with me who goes to Corproate banking dep or commerical or Risk the same base salary. And as this's my 2nd month i dont know much about the bonuses structure. My plan is to stick here for 2-3 years then try to move to Abu Dhabi, dubai or Qatar.

Comp would be pretty much similar (or slightly higher) than a typical analyst comp, but remember there are no taxes (but an american would need to pay home country taxes if the income is above a certain threshold). Obviously there will be a lot of savings as there would be no expenses related to nights out.

Hi BankingWaffle,

I'm a Saudi and I've done 2 IB internships in Saudi Arabia so far, both at Saudi Arabia's top 2 IBs by size of transactions. Comp is around 10k riyals starting for analysts, and something around 20k riyals for associates. Trust me, it's not a place you'd turn down for NYC or London. The dealflow is ok (you usually work on 1 to 3 deals at the same time at most), but you're better off working in London/NYC and then transferring here.

The heavy hitter is the bonus (the analyst i got really close to last summer told me his year end bonus was around $65,000). Now this may not seem like a lot of money for bulge bracket investment bankers who got used to 2006-2007 figures, but remember that Jeddah and Riyadh are one of the cheapest cities to live in, and that if IBD profit if split equally and completely, it will fall on heads that are literally countable on your fingers (IBD teams at the top 2 Saudi banks are rather elite. At my first bank there were 2 full time staff in IBD, at the second bank there were a total 5 (including a former head of M&A at an upper market boutique IB). Criteria for employment is quite stringent. I went through 5 interviews to get a summer internship, and a spreadsheet test (basics essentially).

Unforunately, Saudi analysts and associates (no comment on their quality....) these days are easy to get, so the big Saudi IBs are preferring Saudis for 2 reasons: - to satisfy government employment requirements (a certain percentage of the workforce must be Saudi) - they're more familiar with the culture and would have a much easier time communicating with clients than you would. That's the ugly truth. If this was 20 years ago and you applied to NCB as a mid-level manager or senior manager, you could expect to make atleast 3 to 4 times your salary in the United States. Today, things are a bit different. Sadly, lots of stupid Saudis in this sector (banking and finance). I haven't even started on the obnoxious women :)

I hope I was helpful

long time reader...

Konig, I do have to question how rigorous was the SA stint? Did you feel the competition was some what on par with other locations?

-really curious

@ bankingwaffle, most salaries in the middle east are quoted as a monthly sum rather than yearly like the US.

Okay...time for post 2.0 on the MENA region...you guys have been a world of help on this. I really, really appreciate it!

Hi guys

Sorry for the haitus and sorry for bringing back a dead thread!

@JP: The stint wasn't too hard, but I definitely learned a lot. It's not structured in any curriculum, so it all depends on who you have the luck of working with/for. They could be really helpful and insightful (like my superiors) or they could be downright negative and berating (some friends interning at other firms were complaining about such associates/VPs)

@Abdel: I'm a straight shooter :) it's the ugly truth. There aren't any high calibre bankers in Saudi Arabia, or atleast not as many as the 1980s-1990s (bin mahfouz days).

@Najifa: Won't mention it :D sorry, for confidentiality reasons lol

@BankingWaffle: come on bro lol it's per month. Ofcourse your nationality matters (Western Caucasians are paid the most, but there aren't many of them around so :P) but only for the fact that you aren't going to stay here forever and that your home country would almost certainly be expensive as hell/taxes your foreign income. So it isn't about racism/colorism as some (dare I say it again) Saudi bankers whine about haha

I really like the enthusiasm you have for Saudi Arabia :) I honestly would recommend interning at JPM/GS's London/NYC office and then trying to transfer to Saudi Arabia from there. Keep in mind that most IBD teams (local banks, atleast. I dont know how big they are at JPM/GS/Lazard's Riyadh office) are quite small compared to the big players in the US/Europe. Another thing to keep in mind is that U.S./European BBs' roles are mainly limited to support/co-advisory/underwriting roles, so if you want to be in most of the limelight, local banks are your way.

Check your PM inbox.

note (1): I honestly don't know why I mentioned race when I meant nationality in my previous post.

note(2): Samba Capital is probably the only bank with a management training program, but even then it's not even close to IBD specific.

This seems fairly risky, I'm happy here in sunny LA.

@BananaBoy: Yup. Bigger risks, bigger rewards, remember? It's always sunny here too haha

haha Olaya street, miss that place. But there isnt any internship for NCB. Almost impossible if one doesn't know anyone in the company.

Btw, how is PE picking up in Saudi?