Gulam Balim

Since May 2004, Goolam Ballim has been serving as the Chief Economist and Research Director of Standard Bank Group in South Africa. The bank's business focus is in the African region, and its business expansion requires strong research support. The research department of Standard Bank of South Africa consists of 53 analysts and 10 logistics personnel, who work in Johannesburg, Nairobi, Lagos, London, and Beijing, respectively. Gulam Goolam has won the Top Economist Award in South Africa, and his team has continuously won honors for their research on macroeconomic issues in the African region, as well as numerous honors in other sectors, industries, and financial markets. He leads a research group whose unique advantage is to conduct macroeconomic and political economic discipline analysis on Africa and major emerging economies. Goolam's research interests span across political, real economy, and financial market fields. He piloted some of the views of Standard Bank of South Africa in these areas and had a particular interest in public policy. Gulam Goolam currently serves as an advisor to various public officials and has participated in the planning of the New Growth Path in South Africa. Gulam Goolam often participates in public dialogue activities related to national and continental issues, and often delivers speeches around the world. Gulam Goolam has pursued degrees in economics, corporate economics, and accounting at the University of Witwatersrand in Johannesburg and Rhodes University in the Eastern Cape in the Eastern Cape.