Citigroup plans to make more deals in the Gulf region

During the two last years, Citigroup Inc increased the staff of the investment banking division by 50%. New employees were hired in the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.  

This year many shares were sold publicly in Gulf countries. It was facilitated by rising oil prices and government privatization programs.

The positive dynamics in the equity capital markets in the countries of this region are fundamentally different from the situation in the West. There, world banks are cutting staff due to the lack of new deals.

Refinitiv reports that this year almost $16 billion were attracted thanks to issuers of this region. All this occurred during the initial public offerings (IPOs). At the same time, the amount of money attracted from Europe, the Middle East, and Africa was half of this sum.