European banking giant UBS Group is setting up a new office in Abu Dhabi, as it seeks to capitalise on the influx of wealthy individuals migrating to the Middle East, according to Bloomberg.
Abu Dhabi, which already hosts 75 individuals with assets exceeding $100 million, is expected to see this number more than double within the next ten years.
According to Beatriz Martin Jimenez, who oversees UBS’s operations across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, regional sovereign wealth funds have played a key role in attracting high-net-worth individuals. Their investments to reduce reliance on oil and boost economic ties with Asia have made the region increasingly appealing.
“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,” Jimenez, who was speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum in Doha. “We’ve seen that migration of clients.”
UBS, a global leader in wealth management, already maintains offices in several Gulf cities, including Dubai, Riyadh, Doha, and Manama.
Over the past decade, the resident millionaire population in the UAE capital went up by 80%, according to Henley & Partners. The emirate is also forecast to see its centi-millionaire population to more than double over the next ten years.
