Islamic Finance

CLOUDY OUTLOOK   By Gordon Platt   The global economic slowdown and regional political turmoil are casting a pall over investment banking in the Middle East. As there's no change in sight, bankers in the region may be in for ...

SAUDI ARABIAN BOURSE ALLOWS FOREIGN CROSS-LISTINGS   By Gordon Platt   The Saudi Arabian stock exchange, known as the Tadawul, has taken a major step toward becoming a regional exchange.   Islamic bloc wins control in Kuwaiti parliament The Capital ...

OPEN FOR BUSINESS   By Gordon Platt   Saudi Arabia is preparing to open its stock markets to foreign investment, and it has reinforced its financial management team in preparation for this and broader economic reforms.   Saudi Arabia, the ...

SOWING SEEDS OF CHANGE   By Anita Hawser   The Arab Spring heralded the beginnings of reform and showed the growing importance of social media in enabling communal action. The telecoms sector in the Middle East has been forever changed ...

UAE AND QATAR REMAIN FRONTIER MARKETS, MSCI SAYS   By Gordon Platt   Qatar and the United Arab Emirates will have to wait at least six more months before index provider MSCI will consider upgrading them to emerging markets from ...

LONG-TERM VISION   By Justin Keay   Kuwait’s development in recent years has been driven by the state, with little FDI. However, upcoming elections promise a new government that could improve the business climate for foreign investors.   When protesters ...

SANCTIONS ON IRAN INCREASE   By Gordon Platt   Two days after the storming of the UK embassy in Tehran on November 29 to protest increased British sanctions on Iran, the US Senate unanimously passed new economic sanctions against Iran and ...

    THE ARAB SPRING’S COSTS AND CONSEQUENCES   By Gordon Platt Countries in the region are evaluating the economic outcome of social and political upheaval—both the opportunities and the challenges.   Commercial International Bank, Egypt’s largest private sector bank, ...

SUCCESSOR NAMED IN SAUDI ARABIA   By Gordon Platt   The death of crown prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz al Saud of Saudi Arabia was followed with the naming of conservative prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz, the interior minister, as king Abdullah’s ...

NEW HORIZONS   By Anita Hawser   Islamic Finance is growing beyond traditional borders to encompass new markets worldwide.   The Islamic finance industry emerged relatively unscathed from the 2008 financial crisis —touting itself as an alternative to the leverage ...

When the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank have their annual meeting in Washington DC at the end of September, the atmosphere will most probably be very tense...

MALAYSIAN DOMINANCE PUT TO THE TEST   By Anita Hawser   Long the leading force in Asia-Pacific’s Islamic finance industry, Malaysia is facing growing regional competition.   Anyone that does business or invests in Asia-Pacific will tell you that, as ...

GCC REGIONAL REPORT: MARKING A MILESTONE   By Gordon Platt   The regional group faces new challenges as it celebrates its 30th anniversary.   The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) celebrated its 30th anniversary on May 25 with quiet flag-raising ceremonies ...

GCC REGIONAL REPORT: BACK FROM THE BRINK   By Gordon Platt   Upheaval in the region and beyond is encouraging banks to bolster their balance sheets before launching any aggressive lending programs.   Banks in the GCC have recovered from the ...

GUNS AND BUTTER   The GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries, led by Saudi Arabia, will spend $120 billion over the next few years to buy advanced fighter planes and anti-missile defense systems. They are spending even larger sums to placate ...

GCC REGIONAL REPORT: OIL MARKETS   By Gordon Platt   Global politics, supply dynamics and the fiscal needs of the GCC’s governments are combining to cloud the prospects for oil prices .   Oil prices have been volatile in recent ...

Regional Awards Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Kuwait Finance House Kuwait Finance House was the first Islamic bank established in Kuwait. It is now a market leader in the GCC and beyond, offering a wide range of shariah-compliant products. KFH has ...

Country Awards Algeria Al Salam Bank-Algeria Al Salam Bank-Algeria was established in October 2008 with capital of $100 million. New rules on Islamic banking in Algeria became effective in January 2011 and are expected to promote the growth of the ...

Overall Awards Best Sukuk Bank CIMB Islamic Malaysia-based CIMB Islamic has been the top sukuk underwriter for each of the past four years. In 2010 it boosted its leading global market share to 23%, largely on the strength of Malaysian ...

ANNUAL SURVEY: ISLAMIC FINANCE   By Gordon Platt   The Islamic finance industry is benefiting from a lack of confidence in the conventional banking sector and is expanding rapidly in emerging markets.   The global financial crisis has forced bankers ...