Business up in Mideast, UBS regional boss says

Dead Sea, Jordan: The Middle East CEO of Swiss investment bank UBS said on Friday he saw business picking up as firms seek help to restructure, and had boosted its presence in Saudi Arabia, the world's top oil exporter.

Per E. Larsson, the former chief executive of Nasdaq Dubai, said he remained "pessimistic" about the global economy, but the Gulf Arab region was in better shape as it had not faced the (toxic debt) problems as banks in the United States and Europe.

"We are seeing business pick up because people are restructuring their businesses ... The green shoots we see so far, I don't think are enough," Larsson told reporters on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum at the Dead Sea in Jordan.

"I think we will see a slow recovery ... we are not through the worse yet."

Christopher Niehaus, UBS' joint head of investment banking in the Middle East & North Africa, echoed those sentiments, saying the Middle East needed oil to stay around the $60 mark for the region to bounce back more quickly.

Oil prices have more than halved hitting a record peak near $150 a barrel last July as the global downturn hit demand.

UBS, which won a conditional licence to provide asset management and wealth advisory services in Saudi Arabia a year ago, added staff in the kingdom in the first quarter, he said.

"It's not just the oil ... Saudi Arabia is opening up and it has the region's largest stock exchange," Larsson added.

UBS has two joint venture funds both launched in 2008.

The first is an infrastructure fund launched with Abu Dhabi Investment Co, which closed its first deal a few weeks ago.

It has also started marketing a $500 million private equity fund with Merchant Bridge to focus on private equity in the Middle East region, Larsson said.