Dubai’s financial centre: Does on the ground mean in the money?

MOST OF DUBAI – including the part allocated for the Dubai International Financial Centre – is an unfinished building site. Relocation of senior bankers has fuelled something of a buzz in the financial centre’s Gate development.

The bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and the accompanying regional crisis caused by oil, equity and property crashes has not reversed the trend of senior bankers moving to Dubai, at least not in all business lines. Andrew Dell moved to Dubai as recently as January. He is head of debt capital markets in CEEMEA at HSBC, previously based in London.

Earlier this year, Credit Suisse relocated Anthony Armstrong to Dubai. Armstrong sometimes worked with Arab buyers in his former role as managing director for Americas M&A in Los Angeles. He moved because of the US slowdown and expected growth in Middle East M&A activity.

In what might be a reality check...