Sandy introduced Sam with the revelation that her son knew Sam's son very well as they had cycled together. We learn about other members all the time. We think we know them BUT!
Sam works from his base in Bahrain and travels for work over most of the Middle East.One of the hardest things to accept, in the ME,was that getting paid was always a bit of a problem BUT as the profits from oil have dropped off so has the ability of the corporates to pay their bills. Many workers who were immigrants and sent money back home just did not get paid.
If you go to the bank for an overdraft they will lend but only to the value of what you hold your account.
Sam has tried to allow for this by demanding a 50% deposit before he starts a job.
He outlined some of the jobs he has and is working on, Generally setting up large computer plant rooms for major companies. Because of the large scale of the equipment very large aircon plants are required to keep the temperature down to an acceptable level.
Sam attended a FINTEC conference that discussed such things as; merging Payment Rails, Cashless World, New Market Platforms and RegTechs, Alternative Finance, InsurTechs, Digital Banks and Blockchain & Bitcoins. Oh dear!!
The banking sector should be worried as the tenor of these conferences is to 'do away' with banks as we know them.
Sam is leaving ext Monday to go to Jeddah where he has a job for the Islamic Development Bank. (They have massive assess)
Jeddah, is a Saudi Arabian port city on the Red Sea and is a modern commercial hub and gateway for pilgrimages to the Islamic holy cities Mecca and Medina.