Julius Baer, the top Swiss investment banking group which grabbed the first licence to operate from Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), is upbeat about the scope of business activities the region stands to offer them.
Michael P. Baer, a member of the group executive board, told Gulf News he was impressed by the pace of development and infrastructural activities that have been taking place in the UAE, especially Dubai.
He was referring to the establishment of DIFC, Dubai Metals and Commodities Centre (DMCC), the numerous free zones, Dubai HealthCare City (DHCC) and allied projects.
"Even in the West, including most parts of Europe, such activities do not take place at this magnitude, and at such speed," Baer noted.
The DIFC office will be used by Julius Baer to run their regional activities which also cover the Indian Subcontinent.
Baer said his institution looks towards tapping the tremendous growth opportunities available in the region which has huge disposable wealth estimated to be in the region of $1.1 trillion.
"Some of the positive factors, apart from infrastructure investments, in the region include healthy government budgets, robust reserves with the central banks and low inflation rates," Baer said, adding that the region's economic growth is not linked to oil revenues alone.
"We are pretty excited about our official opening in DIFC, which marks our formal presence in the region the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent which is on a healthy growth trail now. There is high liquidity in this market and an array of exciting projects is happening in the region.
"One of the common factors in the region that makes it very interesting to us is that there is investment going into public infrastructure while this is not happening in this scale in Europe," Baer said, adding that the bank's outlook for the region promises long-term sustainable economic growth for years to come.
Commenting on the cutting-edge infrastructure and modern regulatory framework of DIFC, he said, "The DIFC regulations are on par with international standards with best practice norms in place. DIFC had the unique chance to have a greenfield approach to drafting the regulatory norms which helped it pick the best from various similar financial centres like London, New York, Hong Kong and Singapore, while leaving the bad out. The DIFC regulations are among the most modern and up-to-date."
The official said Julius Baer, which manages client assets to the tune of $100 billion globally, has its targeted audience in the region in high net worth families, family businesses, institutions, etc.
"We are keen on mandates by the region's central banks to manage assets as well handling pension and social funds. We can also offer Sharia'h compliant asset management solutions.
"Typically, large families need tax planning, investment advice, asset management, pure banking services etc. Julius Baer, with its wealth of experience over the years, is capable of providing all of this," Baer said.
Julius Baer has invested significantly in infrastructure and people in its regional base in Dubai. Baer said the bank's investments will remain significant as the investment banking group continues to generate business in the region..
"We offer a wide range of activities and have been present in the region for quite some time now, with the bank focusing on the Middle East from Zurich, with representatives travelling down," said Brij R. Singh, the CEO of Julius Baer, Middle East.
He said since this is the first domestic operation in the Middle East, it has moved people from Geneva to Dubai. Singh said his institution will seek to adapt its products and services to local requirements.
"Our range of activities includes private banking, funds distribution, capital market operations, family office services, tailor-made wealth management services, etc," he added.
Gulf News
