Kuwait may lay claim to more than 5% of the world's total oil reserves, but without the expertise and equipment needed to tap into the bulk of this, and with strict rules prohibiting foreign help, the country is struggling to realise its energy potential.

With performance starting to pick up again in the Kuwaiti banking sector, and strong growth potential both in the domestic market and in neighbouring Iraq, the small country is finding itself the focus of a growing number of lenders, with competition among them growing fierce.

Steadily rising oil prices, a stable economy and the implementation of the National Development Plan are causing ripples of optimism in Kuwait, as the country looks to build on the slow progress it has been making in recent years.

With the country's well-capitalised banking sector set to transition smoothly to Basel III standards and a positive macroeconomic outlook, central bank governor Mohammad Al-Hashel is able to concentrate on Kuwait's longer term prospects. He tells The Banker how he expects more growth in the Islamic banking sector and an increase in government spending, both of which will prove beneficial to the country's economy.

The Gulf’s sovereign wealth funds have grown in size and influence, adapting to market forces and taking advantage of the global financial crisis. But just how are they generating returns in the current economic climate?

Mohammad Al-Hashel is settling into his role as Kuwait’s central bank governor, taking over responsibility for a banking sector that is well capitalised and highly liquid. 

Kuwait’s banks are looking to external markets as they pursue growth, a strategy that has the potential to strengthen Kuwait’s economic relationships with the countries in which it operates.  

In the past year, political turbulence has dented Kuwait's otherwise healthy economy, with political infighting effectively blocking the government's $130bn economic development plan (EDP). But a new government, elected in December 2012, looks set to put an end to the country's political problems and kick-start the EDP.