The Emirates Bank of the UAE made its debut in Riyadh by promising job opportunities to Saudis in 15 outlets planned kingdomwide and a good mix of investment options to its customers, including expatriates.

The official launch was announced at a press conference held at its new office on King Fahd Road on Tuesday night by Mohamed Al-Hegelan, the Saudi general manager, who said it would be a full-service bank in retail, corporate and other areas of banking within a year or so.

Mohamed Al-Faddah, head of Shaheen (Private Banking) and Abdulrahman Abu Ghaniyah, director of sales and marketing, were also present. Al-Hegelan brings to his new job a wealth of experience as a head of Cards and Consumer Lending Division at Banque Saudi Fransi and earlier as head of Retail Banking Group at Samba. The bank had a soft opening on Saturday.

The entry of Emirates Bank in the Kingdom comes at a time when the Saudi banking sector has been experiencing a high growth rate following the repatriation of part of the estimated $700 billion that had been invested in the US. The Gulf International Bank of Bahrain opened its first branch in Riyadh in 2001.

The opening up of the banking sector would also see the advent of Al-Bilad Bank (with an SR3 billion capital and the merger of eight leading money exchangers in the Kingdom) by the middle of next year. Also cleared by the Saudi government are three major international banks - Deutsche Bank of Germany, BNP Paribas Bank of France, and J.P. Morgan Chase Bank of the United States. The HSBC Group is also planning to establish an investment bank in Riyadh.

Referring to the Emirates Bank, Al-Hegelan said they would open 15 outlets under a phased program. They will concentrate on retail banking to start with before extending their services to other sectors. "What we are offering now are some basic services, such as personal loans, credit cards, inter-bank transactions and other facilities. Investment and allied services related to Internet banking will follow in due course." He assured customers efficient service and attractive returns on their investments within the framework of SAMA regulations.

Al-Hegelan pointed out that the level of Saudization in his bank had reached 70 percent. The new employees were put through their paces in different fields to launch their careers on a sound footing.

Referring to their expansion plan, the general manager said they would have six outlets in Riyadh within a year, while the other branches would come up in the Western and Eastern Provinces in due course.

In reply to question, he said the bank would allow its Saudi customers to invest in both local shares (Tadawul) and in the UAE stock market.

However, the expatriate community would continue to be bound by SAMA regulations, which keep such transactions off limits. They could invest in mutual funds - an option provided by Saudi commercial banks.

Asked about the market potential for the banking sector, Al-Hegelan said the Saudi market has been characterized by huge liquidity.

Their feasibility study showed that there was good scope for other banks as well. The number of high net worth individuals was large. This made possible the launch of Shaheen private banking service featuring attractive options.