Middle East

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.