Qatar banks could create more than 5,000 new financial services jobs this year, with expat bankers in particular looking to move to the emirate.

The forecast by recruiter Kinsey Allen has suggested Doha’s financial services industry will employ some 20,100 people by the end of this year, more than three times the 6,200 people employed by the sector in 2006, and significantly more than the 14,900 people working in the industry at the end of 2009.

The reasoning behind the expansion is the continuing increase in foreign investment, up from $3.63bn in 2008 to an estimated $20.75bn in 2009.

For expats, the attraction will continue to be Qatar’s lack of income tax and relatively liberal culture, with recruiters, for example, already reporting increased interest from London bankers ahead of the UK’s April increase in higher rate income tax. [Read More]