Through our ongoing commitment to developing regional ties, we’re making sure that we remain the IFC of choice for Gulf investors, especially in private wealth, banking and Islamic finance.
As a jurisdiction that offers stability, certainty, high levels of governance and robust structures, Jersey is well placed to support business and families who want to ensure compliance with regulations and focus on their long-term objectives.

- There is a growing need for ethical, transparent and accountable finance in the Gulf region – areas in which we’re experts
- We’re able to work within a range of finance disciplines, sensitive to local dynamics, economies and cultures
- We support inward and outward foreign direct investment (FDI) for infrastructure projects through our integrated business development strategy
- We assist in family wealth management and pre-IPO planning
- We provide a full suite of cross-border, corporate, funds and wealth management services for high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs)
- We continue to support our permanent presence in the Gulf region with regular business seminars, roadshows and receptions to strengthen our relationships and widen our network of contacts.

When Jersey became the first international finance centre (IFC) to have an office within Dubai’s economic zone (DIFC), it put us in a good position to support the increasingly complex needs of investors in the UAE and the wider Middle East region.
Today our team in the Gulf Region are able to engage with stakeholders on the ground, providing a seamless bridge between Jersey and the GCC and the wider Middle East, and benefit from the ever-increasing trade links between Dubai and east and west Africa, and India.
It is Dubai’s development as a gateway jurisdiction between east and west Africa and India that perfectly places our Middle East Regional Hub office to drive our business development strategy for these exciting markets.
Forward-Thinking Agreements
Jersey already enjoys well-established bilateral government-to-government relationships with several partners in the Gulf region, many of which are based on strong links across financial and professional services.
Jersey’s first Bilateral Investment Treaty with the UAE was signed in November 2021. This treaty enhances the business environment between the two jurisdictions by providing equitable treatment and routes to arbitration for investors. Jersey also signed a double taxation agreement with the UAE in 2017 to provide greater tax certainty for individuals, investors and businesses operating across Jersey and the Gulf state.
The Government of Jersey continues to negotiate a range of agreements with partners in the Gulf region to increase cooperation, provide investor certainty and boost investment. This includes engagement at both Ministerial and official levels with partners, including Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia.
Jersey for the Gulf Region
Case Studies from Jersey-Based Companies

Altum have long standing and established relationships throughout the Middle East and in recent years we have seen a growth in demand for the creation of Private Trust Company (or Foundation) ‘PTC’ structures.
Go to page 8 to view the full case study.

A prominent Saudi based family wanted to use BKS Family Office to establish a Private Trust Company (PTC) structure to hold a number of their international assets for succession planning purposes.
Go to page 8 to view the full case study.

A high net worth individual, a citizen of the GCC, recently selected Jersey as his preferred jurisdiction for a major new private wealth holding structure. The head of the family had accumulated a diverse range of investments in several different jurisdictions over the course of his lifetime.
Go to page 9 to view the full case study.

The beneficial owner of a large Saudi Arabian investment management group, and his long-standing Jersey based corporate service provider, sought advice on establishing a vehicle in Jersey to hold and invest in UK-listed stocks as part of a succession plan for his family wealth.
Go to page 9 to view the full case study.

Crestbridge Family Office Services (FOS) assisted, alongside the family’s existing advisor team, a Middle Eastern family with the implementation of a substantial family office structure where succession planning was a vital component.
Go to page 10 to view the full case study.

Three branches of a wealthy family – headed by three brothers – were the founders of a large manufacturing business with activities across the GCC. Each brother has numerous children and grandchildren but sadly two of the brothers are now deceased.
Go to page 10 to view the full case study.

Fairway helps families based in the Gulf Region to structure family and corporate assets, including the family business.
Go to page 11 to view the full case study.

Fiduchi has had a presence in the Middle East for over two years and has serviced clients in the region for over a decade. As an independent Jersey trust and corporate services provider, Fiduchi is ideally placed to assist families, and family businesses, with their structuring requirements having done so for more than 30 years.
Go to page 11 to view the full case study.

Hawksford has a long-standing relationship with the GCC region, having supported Middle Eastern clients and intermediaries with outward investments into the UK, US and Europe for many decades. This includes the administration of trust and company structures for large and multinational businesses, sovereign wealth, multi-generational families, ultra-high net worth individuals, listed companies and SMEs.
Go to page 12 to view the full case study.

Highvern were recently engaged by a member of the Saudi Arabian royal family to assist with refining and streamlining their complex private wealth structures. The client’s wealth structuring took place nearly 20 years ago, with real estate and investment assets added piecemeal as they were acquired.
Go to page 13 to view the full case study.

IQ-EQ was approached by a GCC family to establish a sophisticated and efficient international operating platform to facilitate a range of international investments, both business and personal. The family were looking to further diversify their investment portfolio internationally to continue growing their wealth and manage risk.
Go to page 13 to view the full case study.

We advised a GCC ultra-high net worth individual on the creation of a bespoke Jersey trust and company structure to hold and manage valuable personal assets situated in various locations in the UK and Europe. A high degree of client and key advisor involvement was required in the design of the structure.
Go to page 14 to view the full case study.

We are working closely with a UK based family office to establish a Private Trust Company (PTC) structure for a significant Middle Eastern family to hold their personal investment assets. They were attracted to the PTC structure as it allows the flexibility to ring fence assets in separate trusts for separate family interests under a single corporate trustee. Whilst consideration was given to appointing family office representatives to the PTC board instead, we have created a structure with the family office participating in an investment committee alongside Oak’s professional directors.
Go to page 14 to view the full case study.

Ogier’s investment funds team, including group partner Emily Haithwaite and managing associate Alexandra O’Grady, advised an Abu Dhabi-based investment group in connection with the establishment of a corporate open-ended investment fund to invest in best-in-class securities (equities, fixed income products, derivatives) primarily across the US, Europe, Japan and China and in other funds worldwide.
Go to page 15 to view the full case study.

A Palestinian/British patriarch who established a construction and real estate development company in the UAE in the 1970s.
Go to page 15 to view the full case study.

As a truly global group with a more than 40 year track record, Trident Trust is often asked to assist families who wish to plan for secure and successful inter-generational wealth transfer.
Go to page 16 to view the full case study.

Walkers’ Jersey Private Capital & Trusts team – led by partners Robert Dobbyn and Sevyn Kalsi – was instructed by a Jersey trust company to advise on and draft the constitutional documents for a new Jersey foundation for a Middle Eastern royal family member.
Go to page 17 to view the full case study
Downloads
Key Contacts
Find out more about Jersey’s IFC and any of the topics discussed in the brochure, please get in touch with one of the Directors from our Middle East Regional Hub office:
Faizal Bhana › Director – Middle East, Africa and India, Jersey Finance
email › / profile ›
Faizal is a UK qualified lawyer and for many years has worked and advised, and is a trusted advisor to institutions, corporates and families across the Middle East, Africa and India. Faizal specialises in banking and finance and has advised corporates, family offices and families including on their international investment and holding structures.
Faizal is responsible for developing the strategy for Jersey Finance’s engagement in Africa, the Middle East and India. He is focussed on his key markets, regularly travelling to all these countries, liaising and working with key stakeholders, including public and private institutions, corporates and families, building long-term mutually beneficial relationships.
An Kelles › Director – GCC, Jersey Finance
email › / profile ›
An joined Jersey Finance in May 2016 as the Business Development Director for Asia and is now based in our Middle East Regional Hub office, in the DIFC in Dubai.
An studied law in Belgium at the University of Leuven including one Erasmus exchange year at Queen Mary and Westfield College in London. She subsequently did an LLM in international business law at Trinity College Dublin.
An qualified as a lawyer in Belgium before moving to Dublin to work in the international business team of the law firm Matheson. In 2009, she went to work for ATC Corporate Services in Luxembourg as a corporate lawyer and later as a business unit manager. After a shareholding change in 2013, ATC Corporate Services merged with the Intertrust Group. An joined the Intertrust Hong Kong office in 2014 as a business unit director for the European and the private equity team.