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Russia, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain are home to the wealthiest expats, with Eurozone countries falling behind when it comes to paying for foreign expertise, according to a new survey of expats. 

The third annual report commissioned by HSBC Bank International found finances among expats were generally positive with two-thirds, or 66 per cent, saying they have more disposable income to save and invest since moving abroad. 

But the survey found expats in Russia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the UAE and Singapore enjoyed the greatest wealth overall, having higher salaries, more disposable income and more luxury items such as swimming pools, properties and yachts. 

Expats in Russia topped the list for the second consecutive years with a third, or 36 per cent, reporting earnings of more than $250,000 a year - compared to two-thirds, or 62 per cent, of expats in Spain earning below $60,000. 

HSBC spokeswoman Lisa Wood said the survey, conducted by research company GfK, showed the wealth gap was widening between the east and west, with expats in emerging economies leaving their counterparts in the Eurozone behind. 

“The BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India, China) economies have fared well over the last year and as a result we’ve seen that these expat locations are particularly strong when it comes to expat finances,” Wood said. 

“Eurozone countries were the worst-performing when looking at purely financial criteria and all featured in the bottom quartile of our table.” 

The Expat Economic survey, part of HSBC’s Expat Explorer Survey of 4,100 expats from 100 countries, ranked 25 countries on scores linked to annual income, monthly disposable income and a measure of defined luxuries. 

When it came to salaries, Russia topped this table followed by Singapore and Bermuda. The UAE was eighth.

Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), will help neighbouring Abu Dhabi set up its financial district if needed, its chief executive officer has said. 

“Our strategy is always to collaborate with Abu Dhabi and the federal authorities,” Abdulla Mohammed Al Awar said in an interview reported on Bloomberg. 

“One financial centre is not sufficient for the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia region, and DIFC is prepared to share its experience of operating the centre in the past six years.” 

Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Development Co is creating a new business hub on Sowwah Island, a project that could serve as the emirate’s financial hub. Al Awar’s comments come after DIFC this week announced a “strong” performance for 2010 so far.

Ahmed Humaid Al Tayer, Governor of the DIFC, said: “We have achieved a very encouraging performance so far this year, especially in light of the global economic backdrop.”

Also yesterday, DIFC said it will make a periodic profit distribution on its $1.25-billion Islamic bond on time.

The amount to be repaid for the three-month period to September 13 by Dubai Sukuk Centre is $2.88 million, a statement on Nasdaq Dubai exchange said.

The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) expects UAE gross domestic product (GDP) to grow by two per cent this year against a contraction of one per cent over 2009.

The periodical bulletin of the Arab Capital Markets performance and economic indicators for the first half of the year said that developments in the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange and Dubai Financial Market indicated that the consolidated budget, based on the current oil prices, would register a total surplus of dhs14 billion as compared to last year, or an equivalent of six per cent of the GDP.

The AMF noted that this surplus surpassed the last year’s figure of dhs4 billion but was less than that of 2008.

On the monetary and banking sector, the AMF said domestic liquidity in the first four months of the year grew by 1.4 per cent to dhs750.7 while combined assets of UAE banks rose less than one per cent to dhs1.5 trillion.

The UAE’s non-oil foreign trade rose 4.7 per cent in the first quarter while imports remained stable year on year.