Global news and insight for corporate financial professionals
REGIONAL REPORT: GCC / CAPITAL MARKETS The region’s biggest exchanges, in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, are ready for liftoff. Al Sowailim: Saudi Arabia offers great opportunities for global investors. The volume of initial public offerings on ...
MIDDLE EAST Dubai: Financial center is attracting global banks hungry for regional growth . New York-based Citi moved one of its top bankers to Dubai last month, while Standard Chartered of the United Kingdom opened the largest trading ...
MIDDLE EAST GCC monetary leaders are pressing ahead with plans for a single currency, despite pressures to revalue. Central bank governors from the six member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) gathered in Doha, Qatar, in April ...
Israel All change: Israel’s currency is set to take its place in the world markets. The Bank of Israel has joined the New York-based CLS (Continuous Linked Settlement) Bank (a multi-currency bank supervised by the US Federal Reserve ...
The Middle East Prudent investment of vastly increased oil revenues and a determination to build stable financial foundations are helping transform the Middle East into one of the world’s most vibrant economic areas. The DIFC in Dubai: One of the ...
Middle East As Islamic bonds become more popular, banks are creating a viable secondary market. Emirates Islamic Bank: Reaping the benefits of a surge in business. Asurge in the issuance of sukuk, or Islamic bonds, and growing demand from ...
Middle East Lebanon’s banks are spreading their wings as they push for more growth in the Middle East’s key markets. Banks in downtown Beirut: Lebanon's financial institutions are expanding through the region. While the banking sector remains the backbone ...
ISRAEL Tel Aviv: Aiming for greater integration with world markets. Israel’s minister of finance Ronnie Bar-On has approved a legislative amendment that will enable foreign portfolio management companies to serve Israeli clients and operate in Israel without the ...
Palestinian Territories After decades of war, Palestinians are trying to revive a flagging economy. While media attention is focused on the attempts to broker a peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians, work has been quietly going on ...
DUBAI DP World’s flagship port operation in Jebel Ali, Dubai When DP World, the Dubai government-owned port giant that bought the UK’s P&O; in March 2006, lists at the end of November (still pending as this issue of ...
ISRAEL Past wars and threats of future ones just can’t stop Israel’s economic engine plowing ahead. Past wars and threats of future ones just can't stop Israel's economic engine plowing ahead. During the past year, Israel’s economy grew ...
QATAR The only way is up: QFC moves to new, gleaming headquarters. Rich in natural gas, the Gulf nation of Qatar has one of the fastest-growing economies in the world, with increasing demand for financial products and ...
Regional Report / Gcc Shariah structures and returns are appealing to a growing range of international investors. Dubai boasts the biggest exchange in the world for sukuk listings Islamic finance was designed for Muslim investors who want ...
Regional Report / Gcc Competition for talent in the banking industry is driving up costs as demand for financial services expands. El-Labban: Talent is more likely to join or stay on at a growing bank As ...
Regional Report / Gcc High oil prices keep the ball rolling, as the Gulf region’s economic growth momentum carries it through a rough patch in the stock markets. Kingdom Tower Riyadh: As capital spending rises, ...
COMPANY TO WATCH: AIR ARABIA/UAE Air Arabia, the first low-cost carrier in the Middle East and North Africa, raised $700 million in its recent initial public offering, the largest IPO ever in the United Arab Emirates. The company’s ...
Rania Nashar, CEO of Samba Financial Group, is the first female CEO of a listed commercial bank in Saudi Arabia. She talks about modernization in the kingdom and at the bank, as well as Samba’s role in supporting the reinvention of the national economy.