GlobalCapital is expanding its business into the Middle East, the Gulf States – where it already has a property base in Dubai – and Libya. The expansion is headed by Oliver Said, the group’s chief officer for business development, who is based in Tripoli. The Tripoli representative office is preparing the ground-work for new financial services business, and has begun to promote Bupa health insurance among the expatriate oil service sector in Libya. “Slowly but surely, Libya is opening up to international business, and it is crucial to be in at the beginning when this happens,” said Mr Said.

GlobalCapital is now exploring potential joint ventures in financial services in the Middle East. “This is the new growth area,” said Mr Said, “with increasing affluence and strong diversion of revenues from the oil business into other sectors of the economy. The building of the Bahrain Financial Harbour will be particularly attractive.” GlobalCapital had bought property in Dubai before prices began to escalate.

The group’s expansion out of Malta has been provoked by rapid growth over the last few years, and the looming possibility of saturation in the home market. Moving outwards into the European Union is not a viable option because that market is already dominated by players that have been in the field for a long time, some of them since the 19th century. “This means looking to the emerging markets, and to the Middle East and North Africa in particular,” said Mr Said. “These petrochemicals-based economies have the resources to sustain fast economic growth, and while there aren’t the structures and systems that we take for granted in Europe, things are changing.”