JPMorgan Says Saudi Business Is Fastest Growing Globally

JPMorgan Chase & Co said on Tuesday its business in Saudi Arabia is growing faster than any other region in the world, helped by the stock exchange’s inclusion in MSCI’s main emerging markets index.

“We at JPMorgan believe that Saudi will become the main hub in the region, as well as one of the main hubs globally,” Carlos Hernandez, head of global banking at the New York-based firm, said on the opening day of the Future Investment Initiative summit in Riyadh.

Global investment firms are clamoring to do business with the kingdom, where low oil prices have forced officials to tap international debt markets and seek foreign capital.

Advisers hired for the imminent IPO of Saudi Aramco are set to split a fee pool of as much as $450 million, Bloomberg News has reported. JPMorgan is one of nine joint global coordinators on the deal.

The bank “made the decision to go onshore in Saudi about eight years ago, open our custody, and our business is growing at the fastest pace than any other region in the world,” Hernandez said.