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PP RUEHDE
DE RUEHMK #1084/01 1691157
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 181157Z JUN 06 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY MANAMA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5028
INFO RUEHZM/GULF COOPERATION COUNCIL COLLECTIVE
RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 1225
RUEHLB/AMEMBASSY BEIRUT 0637
RUEHEG/AMEMBASSY CAIRO 0823
RUEHDM/AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS 1155
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0951
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0873
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 0390
RUCPDOC/USDOC WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MANAMA 001084 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/18/2016 
TAGS: ETRD BA ECTRD REGION
SUBJECT: CITIBANK MOVES REGIONAL OFFICE FROM BAHRAIN TO 
DUBAI 
 
MANAMA 00001084  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
Classified By: Ambassador William T. Monroe.   Reason: 1.4 (B)(D) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  Citibank earlier this month transferred its 
regional headquarters from Bahrain to Dubai.  Although the 
move received little attention here, Citibank Middle East 
Managing Director Mohammed Al-Shroogi, a prominent Bahraini 
and Shura Council member, told the Ambassador that the move 
reflects a shift in the regional financial landscape as 
neighboring GCC countries open their doors to, and actively 
solicit, foreign banks.  This development highlights the 
challenges facing Bahrain as it tries to compete with its 
wealthier neighbors, and underscores how important the FTA is 
for Bahrain and its economic future.  End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Citibank on June 1 appointed Mohammed Al-Shroogi as 
its corporate and investment banking head for the Middle 
East, based in Dubai, as well as its chief country officer 
for the UAE.  Al-Shroogi, a Bahraini citizen, had until then 
served as Managing Director for the Middle East out of 
Citibank's office in Bahrain, where he was also chief country 
officer. 
 
¶3. (C) Al-Shroogi has moved to Dubai, but during a brief 
visit back to Bahrain on June 15 the Ambassador called on him 
to get his take on the reasons for the shift in the regional 
headquarters, and the implications for Bahrain as a regional 
financial center.  Al-Shroogi said that as a Bahraini citizen 
it was tough for him to make the move, but wearing his 
Citibank hat he felt there was no choice.  Especially on the 
investment banking side, he said, Dubai is now the place to 
be in the region.  Eight leading investment banks have 
recently established major presences there.  He compared 
Dubai's situation to that of London in Europe.  London is 
more expensive  and perhaps less ideal a locale than other 
European cities, but if you are a banker in Europe, London is 
where you want to be.  Dubai is now much more expensive than 
Bahrain, living conditions are not as pleasant anymore, and 
good office space is harder and harder to find, but if you 
want to attract top banking talent, you have to be in Dubai. 
 
¶4. (SBU) In addition, he continued, the financial environment 
is changing in the individual GCC countries. When Bahrain 
established itself as a financial center in the 1970s, 
foreign banks were not welcomed in countries like Kuwait, 
Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.  Bankers set themselves up in 
Bahrain, and serviced the region from there.   Now, the 
situation is changing.  Citibank was offered a full-banking 
license in Kuwait last summer, and recently commenced 
operations there.  It will soon set up in Qatar (former 
Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill is expected to come for the grand 
opening), and hopes to get into the Saudi market.  Its office 
in Bahrain was gradually being reduced to a local office for 
the Bahrain market. 
 
¶5. (C) Al-Shroogi (protect) said that he personally delivered 
the unhappy news of the move to Dubai to Crown Prince Shaikh 
Salman, who has been given stewardship over Bahrain's 
economic reform efforts.  The Crown Prince was not happy. 
Al-Shroogi explained to the Crown Prince that in New York 
City Citibank has its corporate headquarters in pricey 
Manhattan, but keeps its backroom banking operations in 
Queens, where it is cheaper and where many employees work. 
He envisioned a similar situation developing in the Gulf, 
where Citibank will have its regional headquarters in Dubai, 
but move/keep many of its backroom banking operations in 
Bahrain, which is cheaper.  He said that in the short-term he 
did not envision a draw-down of employees in Bahrain, an 
important consideration for Bahrain.  Not surprisingly, he 
noted, the Crown Prince did not particularly like the analogy 
of Bahrain as the "Queens of the Gulf." 
 
¶6. (SBU) Al-Shroogi stated that Bahrain, in addition to 
cheaper housing and office space, has another advantage over 
Dubai: a more developed local (that is, Bahraini) workforce 
in the financial sector.  Expansion in Dubai will be hampered 
by local requirements to hire a certain percentage of local 
citizens.  It is difficult to find qualified Emiratis.  So it 
is possible, he said, that Citibank may shift some positions 
from Dubai to Bahrain even as it moves its regional 
headquarters in the other direction. 
 
¶7. (SBU) With Bahrain losing some of its luster as a regional 
 
MANAMA 00001084  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
hub for conventional and investment banking, Al-Shroogi 
stated, Islamic banking will play an increasingly important 
role for the Bahraini economy.  In this area, he did not see 
Bahrain's position slipping.  He fully expected Bahrain to 
remain the regional center for Islamic banking. 
 
¶8. (C) More broadly, Al-Shroogi worried that the Bahrain 
economy could follow the path that Gulf Air has taken 
recently, slowly losing some of its regional position as 
wealthier neighbors try to develop their own industries where 
Bahrain has traditionally been strong.  Gulf Air has lost two 
of its four original owners (Qatar and Abu Dhabi) as those 
countries build their own airlines.  Alba will face increased 
competition as Oman and others build their own aluminum 
factories.  Dubai and Qatar are fast building up their own 
financial sectors.  Bahrain is trying to develop its tourism 
sector, but investors will be scared away and go elsewhere in 
the Gulf if Islamic parliamentarians continue to appear 
threatening to the industry. 
 
¶9. (C) Al-Shroogi said that there will be great pressure on 
the Crown Prince to produce.  "Everyone says that the economy 
is in the hands of the son," he said, meaning that the King 
has focused on political reform while turning economic issues 
over to the Crown Prince.  "Young Bahrainis look up the Crown 
Prince," he added, "but he has to produce."   The Economic 
Development Board, which falls under the CP's purview, must 
move quickly. 
 
¶10. (C) Comment: The move of Citibank's regional office to 
Dubai received surprisingly little notice here, but it is 
certainly a blow to a country which has long taken pride in 
its role as a regional financial center, and where one of the 
signature office building projects now under construction is 
called the "Bahrain Financial Harbor."   This move highlights 
the challenges facing the Bahraini government as it tries to 
compete with its wealthier neighbors, especially Qatar and 
the UAE, who are ready to spend to build infrastructure and 
attract business.  It also underscores the importance of the 
FTA as a way to help Bahrain compete and attract investment. 
Although the FTA is still weeks away from implementation, 
there are a few signs that it may in fact help bring interest 
in investment to Bahrain.  In recent weeks, we have learned 
of an American automotive parts manufacturer that wants to 
build a plant in Bahrain, using aluminum from Alba, to make 
auto parts for the U.S. market.  And Microsoft is looking at 
establishing a regional office in Bahrain that could bring 
some 25-30 executive-level employees to Bahrain.   Both 
companies have cited the FTA as an important factor in their 
decision-making. 
 
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Visit Embassy Manama's Classified Website: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/manama/ 
********************************************* ******** 
MONROE