Wealth Management in the Middle East 2009

With the Western economies in a tailspin there is increasing focus from wealth managers on the potential in the Middle East. This report provides a clear picture of the scale and composition of the onshore wealth management landscape from 2004-13 across the GCC region. It also assesses key competitive developments in the three most attractive countries.

Report Highlights
Datamonitor has developed a Wealth Management Opportunity Index to aid those working in the wealth management industry to gauge the relative attractiveness of markets as wealth management centers.

This report Datamonitor's conclusion that the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain are the most attractive wealth markets in the Middle East. Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Oman offer fewer opportunities for different reasons.

Wealth Management in the Middle East sizes the wealth markets in six Middle Eastern countries, as measured by the number of wealthy individuals (defined as those with aggregate onshore liquid assets of more than $50,000) and the total level of holdings of onshore liquid assets.
[Studien Infos ausblenden]

Table of Contents 6
Table of figures 7
Table of tables 8
DATAMONITOR'S WEALTH MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITY INDEX 9
Datamonitor's Wealth Management Opportunity Index is a valuable tool for assessing the relative attractiveness of wealth markets 10
Institutional and economic variables, along with market size and features are key measures of wealth management market attractiveness 10
There are five key parameters when assessing a market for its wealth management potential 11
There are 18 components to the five key parameters of the wealth management opportunity index 12
Institutional factors 12
Economic variables 12
Wealth management market size 12
Wealth management market features 13
Wealth management client characteristics 14
Datamonitor ranks the UAE, Qatar and Bahrain as the top three Middle Eastern wealth markets 15
MARKET OVERVIEW 18
UAE 21
UAE represents the greatest opportunity of any Middle Eastern wealth management market 21
The doors are wide open to new entrants and the market is increasingly demanding high quality service 22
Range of products and services: 1 22
Level of consolidation: 3 22
Ease of market entry: 5 23
Level of international wealth management activity in country: 3 24
Level of use of onshore services: 0 24
Level of demand for high quality service: 2 24
A number of leading international private banks are active in the UAE 25
Julius Baer was the first international private bank licensed to operate in the DIFC 25
Standard Chartered opened its first branch in the UAE in 1958 25
Credit Suisse has had a dedicated wealth management office in Dubai since 2005 26
UBS offers a range of Islamic finance products and services alongside its more traditional wealth offerings 26
SG Private Banking has its Middle East regional office based in the DIFC 27
HSBC is the largest and most widely represented bank in the Middle East 27
There were 360,000 affluent individuals, with onshore liquid wealth of $76,764 million in the UAE in 2008 29
QATAR 30
Qatar is the world's wealthiest country per capita and offers great potential to international wealth management firms 30
Qatar has experienced phenomenal growth and has positioned itself well as an international business center 31
NYSE Euronext has bought a stake in Qatar's stock exchange, increasing Doha's chances of being a viable alternative to Dubai as the region's securities hub 31
Qatar welcomes new business and its residents increasingly desire a sophisticated service, both of which are encouraging to international wealth managers 32
Range of products and services: 1 32
Level of consolidation: 2 33
Ease of market entry: 3 33
Level of international wealth management activity in country: 2 34
Level of use of onshore services: 2 35
Level of demand for high quality service: 2 35
The QNB continues to be the largest wealth manager in Qatar with international players more limited in the private banking services that they provide 35
QNB was established in 1964 as the country's first Qatari-owned commercial bank 35
HSBC Wealth Management offers a significant Sharia product range in Qatar 36
HSBC offers a wide range of products and services to its Qatari customers 36
HSBC offers a full range of Sharia wealth management products and services 38
Business confidence index 39
Standard Chartered has had a presence in Qatar for over five decades 39
Coutts is an international player new to Qatar 40
UBS has only just launched a wealth management operation in Qatar, although has been present in the Middle East since 1964 40
There were 97,000 affluent individuals, with onshore liquid wealth of $19,801 million in Qatar in 2008 41
BAHRAIN 42
Bahrain is eager to recapture a more dominant position as a Middle East wealth management center 42
Bahrain has experienced steady economic growth and is set to strengthen its position as a wealth management center in the Middle East 43
Bahrain is eager to recapture a more dominant position as a wealth management center in the Middle East 44
Range of products and services: 3 45
Level of consolidation: 2 45
Ease of market entry: 3 46
Level of international wealth management activity in country: 2 47
Level of use of onshore services: 1 47
Level of demand for high quality service: 2 48
Bahrain's regulatory environment makes it an attractive destination for international private banks 48
Standard Chartered opened its first office in Bahrain in 1920 48
Deutsche Bank has had a presence in Bahrain for over 30 years 49
There were 57,000 affluent individuals, with onshore liquid wealth of $11,479 million in Bahrain in 2008 49
OVERVIEW: KUWAIT, SAUDI ARABIA AND OMAN 51
APPENDIX 58
The drivers of growth in the wealthy population 58
Income growth (combined with inflation, changes in GDP by sector, household savings rates and debt levels) 58
Investment returns (market capitalization, interest rates and bond yields) 58
The following measures are not, in themselves, drivers of wealthy population growth 58
Market capitalization 58
GDP 58
The following measures are not drivers of wealthy population growth except under very restricted circumstances 59
Primary residence value growth 59
Inheritance 59
Methodology 59
Global Wealth Model 59
The UK sub model 59
Global sub model (for all other countries) 60
Forecasting methodology 60
Continuous refinement to the understanding of liquid wealth distribution 60
Datamonitor's wealth numbers compared with other wealth numbers 61
Bibliography 61
Further reading 61
Ask the analyst 62
Datamonitor consulting 62
Disclaimer 62
[Inhaltsverzeichnis ausblenden]

Table 1: Wealth management opportunities rankings of Middle East countries 3
Table 2: Datamonitor's Wealth Management Opportunity Index - Middle East and Switzerland 15
Table 3: Datamonitor's Wealth Management Opportunity Index with values - Middle East and Switzerland 16
Table 4: Total number of affluent individuals (000) in the Middle East, by country, 2004-2013 18
Table 5: Total number of affluent individuals as a % of adult population, by country, 2004-2013 18
Table 6: Total number of affluent individuals as a % of total population, by country, 2004-2013 19
Table 7: Total aggregate liquid assets of affluent individuals, $bn, 2004-2013 19
Table 8: Total aggregate liquid assets of affluent individuals as a % of total savings and investments, 2004-2013 20
Table 9: Wealth management opportunity index: UAE 21
Table 10: List of foreign banks and their number of branches 23
Table 11: Commercial banking leads the way in terms of segment profitability for HSBC ME, 2007 28
Table 12: Number of affluent individuals in the UAE, 000, 2004-2013 29
Table 13: Aggregate onshore liquid wealth in the UAE, $m, 2004-2013 29
Table 14: Wealth management opportunity index: Qatar 30
Table 15: HSBC's wealth management offering is built around a portfolio planner 37
Table 16: Number of affluent individuals in Qatar, 000, 2004-2013 41
Table 17: Aggregate onshore liquid wealth in Qatar, $m, 2004-2013 41
Table 18: Wealth management opportunity index: Bahrain 43
Table 19: Improved oil prices both hinder and benefit the Bahraini economy 44
Table 20: Number of affluent individuals in Bahrain, 000, 2004-2013 49
Table 21: Aggregate onshore liquid wealth in Bahrain, $m, 2004-2013 50
Table 22: Number of affluent individuals in Kuwait, 000, 2004-2013 51
Table 23: Aggregate onshore liquid wealth in Kuwait, $m, 2004-2008 52
Table 24: Wealth management opportunity index: Kuwait 53
Table 25: Number of affluent individuals in Saudi Arabia, 000, 2004-2008 54
Table 26: Aggregate onshore liquid wealth in Saudi Arabia, $m, 2004-2008 54
Table 27: Wealth management opportunity index: Saudi Arabia 55
Table 28: Number of affluent individuals in Oman, 000, 2004-2008 56
Table 29: Aggregate onshore liquid wealth in Oman, $m, 2004-2013 56
Table 30: Wealth management opportunity index: Oman 57
Figure 1: Datamonitor's Wealth Management Opportunity Index 10
Figure 2: There may be some missed opportunities on the part of HSBC's wealth management business in the Middle East 28
Figure 3: HSBC Qatar has established its own Sharia-compliant division, HSBC Amanah 39
[Tabellenverzeichnis ausblenden]