Middle East

MIDDLE EAST Determined to avoid repeating past mistakes, oil-rich nations in the Middle East have worked hard to diversify their economies. So far they have fared well, but pitfalls remain.   Oil is integral to the Middle East's economic fortunes, ...

MIDDLE EAST     Dubai's International Financial Exchange: Simplifying access. In an effort to stimulate more trading by local investors, the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) is now allowing companies to list, trade and clear in UAE dirhams, as well ...

MIDDLE EAST         Safa: Credit crunch could boost sukuk in the longer term. Asudden slowdown in the issuance of sukuk, or Islamic bonds, could be the result of the global credit crunch, a ruling by a committee ...

MIDDLE EAST       Dubai International Financial Center: Business is growing. The opening of Saudi Arabia’s stock exchange, the largest in the Arab world, to investors from outside the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) couldn’t have come at a better ...

MIDDLE EAST     Bright future: NYSE deal boosts Doha market. General Electric of the United States has formed an $8 billion joint venture with Mubadala Development, a sovereign wealth fund based in Abu Dhabi, to invest in emerging markets ...

REGIONAL REPORT: GCC / ECONOMIC UPDATE     Currency pegs could come unglued as the region’s economies heat up.       Just when it seemed that it couldn’t get any better for the oil-rich countries of the Gulf Cooperation ...

MIDDLE EAST       Sustainable development: Abu Dhabi plans to create an eco-friendly city. Abu Dhabi, capital of the United Arab Emirates, the world’s third-largest oil exporter, is building a $22 billion carbon-neutral city near its international airport. Known ...

DR NEWS     Global Investment House, an asset management and investment banking company operating in 16 countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), has become the first Kuwait-based company to issue depositary receipts. The issue of 35% ...

REGIONAL REPORT: GCC / COUNTRY PROFILE: QATAR   Qatar has plenty of gas for the long drive to becoming a knowledge-based economy.     Doha's constantly changing skyline illustrates Qatar's rapid growth.   Qatar has the world’s third-largest reserves of ...

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 ...