US financial services giant State Street says it will create 100 jobs for Emirati nationals at its new Al Ain hub, and has pulled forward the centre's opening to July 1, 2027 — earlier than the end-of-year target it had previously flagged.
Jack Keshishian, State Street's head of the Middle East and North Africa region (excluding Saudi Arabia and Bahrain), told reporters: "We are looking at the go date of the first of July." The company plans to grow the Al Ain site to 300 staff by 2030, with the workforce split roughly into thirds: one-third drawn from State Street's global centres, one-third from the wider UAE talent pool, and one-third made up specifically of Emirati citizens.
The hub will focus on technology, artificial intelligence, operations and client services. State Street is building recruitment pipelines with UAE universities through the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, with graduate hiring expected to start in the first quarter of 2027.
The firm has also filed an application to expand its activities at Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) to include asset safeguarding and investment fund administration services — a sign of its broader ambitions in the emirate's financial sector.
The move adds to a string of recent announcements by global financial institutions setting up or expanding operations in the UAE, as Abu Dhabi and Dubai compete to position themselves as regional hubs for asset management and fintech, while pushing companies to deepen Emiratisation of their workforces.