With its unresolved dispute with Saudi Arabia over the so-called 'neutral zone' rumbling on, record-low oil prices and the possibility of an Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries-imposed production freeze, Kuwait's oil industry is under pressure. Still, the country remains committed to investments in the sector.
Latest articles from James Gavin
Resilient Qatar looks to further economic diversification
September 1, 2015The drop in oil prices has not hit Qatar's economy particularly hard, and its central bank governor, Abdulla Bin Saoud Al-Thani, is looking to further diversification, a strong banking sector, infrastructure investment and closer ties with China to keep the country in the fast lane when it comes to economic growth.
Qatar's never ending economic success story
June 1, 2015With its guaranteed long-term liquefied natural gas revenues and ever-expanding array of foreign assets, Qatar boasts a profile that has set it apart from its Middle Eastern oil-exporting peers – even if it has found it necessary to curb some of its prodigious spending growth in the midst of weaker global oil prices seen in the past year.
Kuwait digs deep to raise energy stake
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Investors look to capitalise on equity market uncertainty
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Islamic stability provides solid structures
May 1, 2012An increasing number of financial institutions from international banks to local specialist players are developing sharia-compliant structured products, offering investors limited downside risk and high returns. But as the uptake for such products increases, so does the pressure of ensuring that they are 100% sharia-friendly.
Middle Eastern banks: a little local insight
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Kuwait looks to private sector funding in PPP push
April 2, 2012Now Kuwait has joined many other Gulf states in pushing through private financing across a range of sectors and overhauling its infrastructure, it boasts one of the Middle East's largest and most diverse public-private partnership programmes. But as the country's government opts for PPPs, will the banks follow?
Islamic banks eye corporate SME space
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A tale of two centres
November 24, 2010From Hong Kong to London, established global financial centres are looking to reinvent themselves as Islamic finance hubs and capture a slice of a fast-growing and still largely untapped market.