Middle East

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 ...

MIDDLE EAST   By Gordon Platt   REGIONAL WINNER : National Bank of Kuwait National Bank of Kuwait, the leading bank in Kuwait and the highest-rated bank in the Middle East, earned $925 million last year, an increase of 4% ...

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 ...

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 ...

Global Finance names the 2010 World's Best Emerging Market Banks in the Middle East   NEW YORK, March 23, 2010 — Global Finance magazine (www.gfmag.com) has named the "Best Emerging Market Banks in the Middle East" in an exclusive survey ...

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 ...

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 ...

Roundup   By Gordon Platt   ExxonMobil is first US company to win Iraq oil contract A joint venture of ExxonMobil and Royal Dutch Shell has clinched a $50 billion deal to develop one of Iraq’s biggest oil fields, the ...

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 ...

Investor   Potash Producer Loves Green Shoots In Global Economy.   By GP   Israel Chemicals is one of the best-positioned potash producers in the world, given its exclusive concession from the Israeli government to extract a seemingly endless supply ...

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 ...

Global Finance ranks the Biggest Emerging Market Banks by Region. NEW YORK, October 16, 2009 — As the world’s key emerging markets continue to drive the global economy out of recession, Global Finance unveils its second annual Global Finance 200, ...

Roundup   By Gordon Platt   Futuristic: Dubai’s new metro should ease traffic congestion Jordan and Iraq signed a free trade agreement in Baghdad on September 3 that will expand already fast-growing trade between the neighboring countries. Jordan’s prime minister ...

Istanbul, October 6th, 2009 - Global Finance magazine hosted its thirteenth annual Best Bank Awards ceremony on October 6th, 2009, in Istanbul (Turkey), at the same time as the Annual Meetings of the IMF and World Bank. More than 200 ...