UBS expands its wings in Saudi

The bank received approval from Saudi authorities for its wealth management, asset management and investment banking businesses, a UBS spokesperson said.

"We would be operational in the course of this year," she said, adding that the bank sees a "strong potential for the region."

The world's largest wealth manager would open an office in the capital Riyadh where about 20 staff would be employed, she added.

UBS is also applying for a licence to operate in the Qatar Financial Centre, she said, without specifying when the bank was expecting an approval.

In a report by the Financial Times, Peter Burnett, chief executive for UBS Investment Bank in the Middle East and North Africa was quoted as saying: "We are making an investment in the progress of the region."

"They have petrodollars flowing in and are in the process of enormous wealth creation," he said.

The British economic newspaper said the region would benefit in the next four years from about $4.3bn in revenues if fuel prices remained high.

In 2006, UBS obtained a licence to open an office in the Dubai Financial Centre.

It has been active since the 1960s in the region, with a presence in Abu Dhabi, Bahrain, Dubai, Cairo and Beirut.

Saudi Arabia accounts for about half the wealth management business in the region.

UBS had been hard-hit by the subprime crisis, having written down over $37bn in assets since the onset of the crisis last year.

- AFP