Islamic Finance

ISLAMIC FINANCING BREAKTHROUGH   By Anita Hawser   GAME CHANGER   The arrival of the first globally standardized documentation for privately negotiated Islamic hedging products marks a major breakthrough in Islamic finance and risk management.     Compared to the ...

ON THE RIGHT PATH   By Gordon Platt     For the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), there have been setbacks on the road to a common currency, which now appears unlikely to be introduced anytime in the next five years, ...

Roundup   By Gordon Platt   Amman: Jordan government signs deal on oil shale reserves The Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Union are aiming to sign a free trade agreement at a joint ministerial meeting in Luxembourg on June ...

FOCUS: ISLAMIC FINANCE IN ASIA   A centralized approach to Islamic finance is helping Asia develop an industry that may challenge the Middle East as the global hub.   By Anita Hawser   The Middle East is often thought of ...

ISLAMIC FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS AWARDS 2010   Islamic financial institutions were not immune to the turmoil of the past two years, but their strict ethical code helped them prosper in many areas where others foundered.   By Laurence Neville   The ...

Dubai   By Gordon Platt and Anita Hawser   Dubai: Debt resolution should improve economic fortunes Dubai moved a step closer to resolving its debt problems with the announcement of a plan to invest $9.5 billion to restructure its flagship ...

Roundup   By Gordon Platt   Riyadh, future home of the GCC Monetary Council The UAE government announced plans to set up a federal credit bureau to collect information on individuals and corporations. The ministry of finance says the bureau ...

  MIDDLE EAST: ECONOMY   Government spending will keep the Middle East’s economic recovery on track in 2010.   By Gordon Platt     The Middle East rode out the global recession better than the major industrialized economies, and the ...

A Rapid Recovery   By Gordon Platt   Demographics and hydrocarbons make the Middle East a dynamic region that is rapidly advancing, despite the debt overhang in Dubai. A young and fast-growing population is demanding jobs, and regional governments are ...

  MIDDLE EAST: RENEWABLE ENERGY   Oil producers aim to turn the desert sunshine into a new export: solar energy.   By Gordon Platt   When the oil runs out, the sun will still be shining and the Middle East ...

  MIDDLE EAST: BANKING INDUSTRY   Banks across the region learned many painful lessons during the crisis but have emerged stronger than ever.   By Gordon Platt   Financial institutions across the Middle East are carefully monitoring their loan portfolios ...

Roundup   By Gordon Platt   Signs of growth: Baghdad hosts a procession of bankers The International Monetary Fund approved a $3.6 billion loan for Iraq, the largest such loan the country has received. The two-year standby agreement will help ...

Roundup   By Gordon Platt   Bahrain’s Salman Industrial City is now open for business Gas-rich Qatar and ExxonMobil signed an agreement in January to build the world’s largest polyethylene plant as part of a $6 billion petrochemical complex in ...

  ISLAMIC FINANCING   Islamic finance is set to become one of the defining phenomena of the coming decade. Some are concerned, though, that the surge of growth may compromise the strict principles on which it is founded.   By ...

Roundup   By Gordon Platt   Dubai International Financial Center: Turmoil casts doubt over future The repercussions from the debt-standstill by investment company Dubai World will be felt for months, if not years, to come. Moody’s Investors Service on December ...

Lebanon/Syria/Turkey   By Nick Kochan   Yilmaz: Turkish banks were ready for leverage crisis The evolution of Turkey’s role in the Middle East and beyond was clearly on display at a late-October risk management conference in Beirut. The guest speaker ...

Emerging Markets Focus: Middle East   The outlook for the Middle East’s economy has brightened substantially in recent months, but the reluctance of banks to lend remains worrisome. Bond issues are picking up some of the slack.   By Gordon ...

  BUCKING THE GLOBAL TREND   Lebanon sidestepped the global turmoil and is busy building on its newfound prosperity.   By Justin Keay   On any morning in downtown Beirut—along the sunny Corniche or in the cafes in the reconstructed ...

Middle East   By Gordon Platt   Sulaiman: Keen to develop efficient capital markets In its first sukuk to raise long-term funds in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), the International Finance Corporation (IFC) is giving a shot in the arm ...

Roundup   By Gordon Platt   Topping out: The colossal Burj tower nears completion Economic growth for the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will reach 5.2% next year on the back of rising oil revenues, the International Monetary Fund forecasts. A ...