The countries of north Africa have been proving attractive for lenders from the Gulf region for decades, but in recent years this activity has picked up, with Egypt a particularly popular destination. Tom Stevenson looks at the reasons why Gulf banks are heading west.
US shale production has significantly altered the landscape of the global energy market. Ahead of the Institute of International Finance's annual spring meeting in Qatar, James King looks at how OPEC is responding to this seismic shift.
The Middle East's private equity market had a successful year in 2014, with several notable deals, a number of vehicles closing their fundraising and increased international interest in the market. James King investigates how likely it is that its popularity will extend into 2015.
Having been upgraded from frontier to emerging market status by Morgan Stanley Capital International, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are certain to see increasing levels of investor interest, but they are also likely to be confronted with some new challenges.
Observers are already predicting that 2014 will be a record-breaking year for sukuk issuance. While the majority of deals are currently coming out of Malaysia, CIMB Islamic's CEO believes that developments in the pipeline will see the asset class grow its international presence.
Hussein Al Qemzi, group chief executive officer of Noor Investment Group and CEO of Noor Islamic Bank, believes that Islamic finance has the potential to evolve beyond its niche market and become the globally accepted norm in banking. But before it can do this, it must diversify its products and services, as well as achieve greater standardisation.
The Arab world has captured the wrong kind of attention in recent years as the Arab Spring uprisings and their aftermath have dominated global headlines. However, The Banker's Top 100 Arab Banks rankings show a banking industry that is well capitalised and well run.
As Dubai has grown, so has its role in the global transaction services industry, with the emirate now serving as the nerve centre of all trade taking place across the Middle East and north Africa. And as Dubai sets out its stall to become the next renminbi hub, this role only looks set to grow.
Investor confidence in the United Arab Emirates has returned to a position of strength, posting impressive profits on the back of GDP growth. However, the country's central bank is pushing through legislation to prevent a repeat of the mistakes that led to its economic collapse in 2009.
Year upon year, the Islamic finance industry posts stellar growth figures. However, as large Western lenders withdraw from the sector, is Islamic finance in as healthy a shape as the figures suggest? The Banker asks a number of experts in the field what the future holds for sharia-compliant banking.