Wednesday, Aug 24, 2016

DUBAI: Dubai’s international competitiveness as a financial hub will not be impacted by the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union (EU), according to a survey of international financial investment professionals.

Investment professional association, the CFA Institute, surveyed 2,043 members on the impact of Brexit on the global economy, and found that 71 per cent of respondents saw no impact of Brexit on Dubai’s financial hub, according to a statement on Wednesday.

But the survey, carried out between July 13 and July 21 this year, had a bleaker outlook for Middle East investment in the UK following the vote. The majority of respondents, 58 per cent, believe that Middle East companies will downsize their presence in the UK “in the wake of Brexit”.

Just 10 per cent of professionals surveyed said companies from the Middle East with significant operations in the UK would seek to expand in the country.

Of the 2,043 respondents, 1,029 were from Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), including 385 from the UK, there were 550 respondents from the America’s and 464 from the Asia Pacific (APAC) region.

“In the immediate aftermath of the Brexit referendum vote, we can see considerable variance over how long investment professionals expect market uncertainty to last, but that uncertainty will be with us for a while at least,” stated Paul Smith, CFA president and CFA Institute chief executive.

A CFA Institute survey found that over 80 per cent of 2,000 investment professionals surveyed believe London as a financial centre would be negatively impacted by Brexit, the Irish Times reported on August 18.

In the same survey, 62 per cent of respondents said that Dublin’s financial services sector would see a positive effect, and 69 per cent said Frankfurt would also benefit, according to the Irish Times.

Staff Report

Gulf News 2016. All rights reserved.