Two of the largest banks on either side of the Atlantic – Zurich-headquartered UBS Group AG and New York-based JPMorgan Chase – are planning to make significant investments in the Middle East to capitalise on the region’s booming economy.
At the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha, UBS Group said it was opening a new office in Abu Dhabi, while JPMorgan Chase used the same platform to reveal its plan to add more than 100 staffers to its businesses across the Middle East.
Reuters reported that British asset manager Ashmore Group has opened an office in Qatar to advise on investment opportunities and build relationships with domestic investors in the country.
UBS already has an office in the neighbouring emirate of Dubai, as well as in Riyadh, Qatar, and Bahrain.
Beatriz Martin Jimenez, president of UBS across the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, said the region is attracting legions of ultra-rich individuals, thanks to the efforts by sovereign wealth funds to diversify regional economies away from oil, and the low taxes.
Jimenez was quoted by Bloomberg as saying: “The Middle East has definitely been a winner for private individuals that have been moving away from higher-tax regimes, other places and other locations like the UK. We’ve seen that migration of clients.
With the new hires, JPMorgan’s headcount in the region would reach nearly 500, up from 370 now.
Mary Callahan Erdoes, chief executive officer of the firm’s asset and wealth management business, said: “It is a very exciting time for everybody to be thinking about this. You can feel it when you’re here, live and in person.”
JPMorgan has been serving clients in the Middle East for more than 100 years, according to its website, and the firm has offices in cities across the region, including Abu Dhabi, Doha, Dubai and Riyadh.
Ashmore’s new office will provide input on the US$200 million Ashmore Qatar Equity Fund (AQEF), which was set up in 2024 with the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), the state’s US$524 billion sovereign wealth fund, by re-allocating shares in listed Qatari companies.
In a statement, Ashmore said: “Since inception to end April 2025, AQEF has delivered a cumulative gross USD return of 18.5 per cent and has outperformed its benchmark index by 345 basis points.”
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