Expatriates in Qatar have excellent benefits for personal finance and the Gulf country topped the list in the Middle East, reporting the highest levels of disposable income, according to HSBC.
Qatar ranked second globally for personal finance with increased disposable income as a key indicator, its expat explorer survey said. The region overall remains an excellent destination for expats to improve their earnings, increase their savings and enjoy a greater disposable income, it said.
The country was ranked eighth globally in overall economics, 21 in terms of local economy (how to start a business) and 25 in terms of working life (career progression); even as its ranking was 29 overall (in expat explorer), 40 in terms of experience and 36 in terms of work family balance.
Now in its ninth year, it is the largest and one of the longest running surveys of expats, with 26,871 respondents from 90 countries sharing their views on life abroad including careers, financial wellbeing, quality of life and ease of settling for children.
Living and working abroad can help expats progress faster towards achieving some of their important financial goals. These goals include buying a property, saving for children’s education and putting money aside for retirement, according to Adrian Quince, Head of Retail Banking and Wealth Management at HSBC.
In Qatar, 69% say they can earn more than at home and 79% held that they can save more than in their home country, the survey said, adding 59% have the ability to save towards their retirement.
Sixty-one per cent said that living abroad had boosted their plans to buy a property, according to the survey, in which 14% of the respondents were from finance sector, 12% from education and 10% from the information technology side.
Within experience league table, where Qatar was ranked 40 overall, its ranking stood at 43 in lifestyle, 36 in people and 29 in finding accommodation.
Quality of the working life in the Middle East has also improved with 36% saying that job security is better than in their home countries, showing an increase from 30% last year. Work-life balance also seems to be better in the Middle East with an increase from 43% to 53% over the past year supporting the statement.
"The Middle East remains an excellent destination for expats to improve their earnings, increase their savings and enjoy greater disposable income, despite the fact all the Middle Eastern countries (except Kuwait) have slipped slightly in this year's economics league table," the survey said.
However, expat confidence in the local economic outlook has fallen slightly in the Middle East to 52% down from 57% last year, it said, adding that it is in line with the expat global average of 52%.
The proportion of expats in the Middle East who saw their disposable income increase after moving also decline slightly, from 67% in 2015 to 63% this year.
Gulf Times
28 September
